


Comatose Worlds

by Kassy (FandomWielder)



Series: Comatose Series [1]
Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Explicit Language, F/M, M/M, Multi, Other pairings will show up in sequels, Polyamory
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-17
Updated: 2016-11-27
Packaged: 2018-08-09 09:51:16
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 52
Words: 62,526
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7797184
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FandomWielder/pseuds/Kassy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Four teenagers begin to have the same strange dream. One by one they fall into a coma, only to be thrust into the universe of Kingdom Hearts. Each discovers something about themselves and all the knowledge they thought they knew about the series turns their world upside down. Now it's a race to control themselves, help their friends, and discover the truth of what the Kingdom Hearts series is truly about.</p><p>For both familiar Kingdom Hearts fans and new.</p><p>Sequel to Whispers In The Dark</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Beginning

**Author's Note:**

> Bringing this over from Fanfiction.net and hopefully will update it more on here. This is part 1 (technically 2 if you're counting the sequel as part 1) of the Comatose series. I try to write as if someone who's never heard of Kingdom Hearts can read it as well as engage familiar fans so if you come across it and it's not something you've gotten into but it intrigues you, I encourage you to try reading it!

-March 20, 2009-

A young fourteen year old female with shoulder length chestnut hair sat on an ordinary bench in an ordinary school. Her matching chestnut eyes scanned her latest canvas, a paintbrush in hand.

“Kassyyyyy... My ass’s nuuuuumb...” The female, aptly named Kasandra Wiliston lowered the canvas ever so slightly to glare at her taller, short chin forest brown haired friend, her friend’s silver eyes distinctly illustrating her boredom.

“Too bad, Sylvia.” Kasandra continued her strokes.

“Come on, my story was just getting good! The kiss, Kass! The kiss!” Kasandra glared at her taller upper back ravenette friend who dared widen her bright blue eyes into innocent puppy eyes.

“What did I just say, Elena?” Kassy hissed, dipping her brush for more paint none too gently.

Before Kasandra’s friend could speak, she narrowed her eyes at the tallest female with golden brown waist length hair, her roaming eyes with the color matching her name, “I don’t care what your excuse is, Hazel. Or any of yours for that matter. Stay. Still.”

After another few rounds of threats, as well as insults, the other three females obliged until Kassy had finished. “Finally!” Sylvia sighed out loud her relief before all but jumping over to her guitar sitting lonely next to her brunette friend.

“Kay, what d’ya guys think of my new song I’ve been working on?” While they listened to her newest masterpiece, Hazel passed out her special brownies she’d made earlier that day.

After strumming the last note, Sylvia sighed, “We gotta get together this week. Anyone free Monday?”

Kasandra shook her head, “I have archery practice.”

Elena sighed, “I have fencing class.”

Hazel pouted, “Ballet.”

“Yeah, okay, I have karate as well,” Sylvia paused before asking, “Okay then. How about Tuesday?”

Kassy shook her head once more, “Artillery.”

Elena, who had began focusing on a story she was writing, didn’t look up from the paper, scribbling words, “Judo.”

Hazel groaned, “I have track this week. Damn.”

Sylvia groaned, “Right. Judo night.”

“Wednesday we have swimming practice so technically we can hang out then.” Kasandra shrugged.

Hazel took another brownie from her bag, munching noisily, “Fursay an Friay ith surial cam.” Everyone gave her a deadpan look. She swallowed before repeating herself, “I said Thursday and Friday is survival camp.”

Sylvia laid down on the bench, strumming random notes, “Damnit... We’re so busy lately... What the fuck do you want?” She ended her demand with a sharp note.

Kassy’s POV

Hazel, Elena, and I whipped our gazes towards a young male with a long fluffy untameable black bob, his skin almost as black as night, “You were here. We were bored. End of story.”

Biting my lip, and tugging a clump of my hair, I smiled shyly up at him, “H-Hi, Nathan...”

His gold tinted, only seen by the keen observer, chocolate eyes immediately flickered in my direction, his face a mask of his usual cold indifference, “Wiliston.”

I shivered. Clutching my canvas a bit tighter, I gathered what little courage I had, “H-How are you today?”

“Do you really wanna know the answer to that, Kass?” I blinked, only to smile at the young male who had appeared beside him with a shoulder blade platinum, almost white, pony tail, his skin almost a translucent white. His vibrant green eyes sparkled kindly.

“Asshole! Get the fuck off me, Mitch!” I bit my lip to stifle my giggles as he sat down on Sylvia with a large grin to match hers.

“Hey! Don’t start the orgy without me!” All eyes shot to the young male with a fluffy violet bob and pink skin, his sky blue eyes sparkling mischievously.

“We always start without you, Blaise. The girls fake theirs when you get here didn’t you know?” Everyone stared at the young male with cropped dark brown almost black hair and dark chocolate skin before bursting into laughter. He kept on a calm blank face, but his chocolate eyes gave away his amusement.

Sylvia abruptly shoved Mitch onto the floor, “Thanks for the distraction, Oliver! So, girls, sleepover tonight. ‘Cause I fucking said so.”

Blaise grinned, “Can we come? I want some action. Whether I witness or participate.”

I blushed darkly, looking away, avoiding everyone’s gazes, even though no one was looking at me. She scoffed, “It may be no secret that I’m half lesbian, but that don’t mean you get a show.”

Everyone’s laughter drowned out his protests.


	2. The First Dream

Sylvia’s POV

It was later that Friday evening that I had shoved my three friends through my bedroom door at the top of the stairs. I shoved Hazel aside to quite literally hop onto my bed, only to discover I’d shoved her to the floor completely. After a short silence, the room erupted with giggles.

Kassy plopped cross legged down on the middle of the carpet and pulled out her sketchbook. She motioned with a hand for everyone to get on the bed without looking up. I strummed my guitar, staring up at the ceiling, eyes closed. Elena began braiding Hazel’s long hair.

A thought crept into my brain suddenly. Ignoring Kassy’s protest, I ran into my walk-in closet, stepping back out with two bottles of beer, “Bottoms up, bitches!” I gulped down about a quarter of the bottle before handing it to Hazel’s eager grabby hands.

“Gimme gimme! Better not be the generic crap like last time...” She sipped a few times before handing it over her shoulder to Elena.

“Ugh... Do I have to? You know I hate drinking with Evans. It turns lesbian and fast.” Elena groaned, taking a quick gulp, “Here, Kassy.”

She grinned widely taking the bottle and sucking on it like a child until all the contents had disappeared. She then began coughing, ripping it from her mouth, “Gah...! Warn me of the kick next time!” She all but sprinted to my bathroom, dry heaving over the sink, “Ugh... Syvy...”

I cackled leaning against the doorframe with my arms crossed over my chest, “Pathetic light weight...” With another chuckle, I strolled back and hopped onto the bed again.

“Gah!” All eyes flew to Kassy who scrambled out of the bathroom, “Something just smacked my ass! Sylvia, I told you to stop doing that!”

I raised an eyebrow, “I was on my bed before you even reacted... I never touched you.”

“B-But you... I...” She whimpered brokenly, “What? Something definitely touched me, guys!”

Elena finished braiding Hazel’s hair, “It’s alright, Kass. We know you have the lowest alcohol tolerance in the world.”

Hazel grinned, “Or maybe it’s a ghost with a fetish for short brunettes!”

Both Hazel and Kassy shouted out different things simultaneously, “I’m not that short!” “What the fuck?!”

All eyes shot to the tall female who was rubbing her arm with a wince, “Seriously, Elena? You usually join in the teasing! Not scratch me!”

Three claw-like scratches ran diagonally down her right bicep. Elena snatched the second bottle of beer from my hand, walked to the bathroom, and began pouring it down the sink, “We’re not drinking ever again because I felt whatever ghost is in here touch my arm.”

Gasping dramatically in horror, I fell to my knees, “Nooooo! My poor alcohol! It had so much to live for!”

A thunk stopped everything. All eyes shot to the unconscious Kassy on the floor in the middle of the room.

Rolling my eyes, I dragged her onto my bed. Elena, Hazel, and I left her to go make dinner.

-Later that night-

Kassy’s POV

-Dream-

The white empty state of the dream faded into a grassy scene of midnight green, almost black. The angry blood red sky almost struck the ground beneath. You could almost hear the sun’s slow farewell.

Ahead was a cliff overlooking raging icy black waters.

The cliff...

Like a helpless marionette, I began moving forward. The graphic t-shirt and jeans I wore faded until in its wake was an ankle blood red halter dress with black slits around the bottom to my thighs of blood red and a golden yellow metal ring attached around my neck, as it flared behind me like water.

Tears trailed down my cheeks as my arms rose away from my body, parallel to the ground.

“Don’t be afraid...” Four female voices spoke at once. I couldn’t move my head to search for the voice, “You will be there soon.”

“Who are you?” I questioned cautiously.

“You will discover the truth soon. You must find him!” The voice echoed.

“Who is he?” I whispered. My eyes slowly slipped shut of their own accord.

“The one who will-” The water rushed up to meet me. I woke up screaming.

-End Dream-

The scream wasn’t helping anyone. The sound went right to my head. Jumping over the girls in the bed with a quick mental thank you for moving me, I ran to the bathroom, emptying the alcohol and food from yesterday.

I could feel Sylvia pull my hair back with a snicker. With pills and water in my body, I all but collapsed back on her bed.

“What the hell was that scream for?” Hazel groaned, stretching.

I explained to them the dream, glaring at Elena who was shaking her head and laughing, “What’s the problem?”

“You were drunk. Obviously your mind was screwing with you.” She rolled her eyes.

I didn’t realize the tickling on my face were tears until Sylvia began screaming, “You idiot! That was THE cliff! And I thought I was the heartless bitch.”

Hazel shouted triumphantly, stabbing her finger in my direction, “You smiled the slightest when she said heartless!”

All eyes shot to me. I rubbed my aching head, “Just... Forget it. Forget it. Just drop it.”

Sylvia’s eyes narrowed before she snapped her fingers, “You know what we need? A Kingdom Hearts run!”

Hazel bounced up and down next to my feet, “Ooh ooh ooh! I wanna do Wonderland this time!”

“I kinda want Deep Jungle...” I shrugged.

“Olympus, bitches!” Sylvia cackled, throwing the controller at Elena.

Said ravenette rolled her eyes, “I wanted Traverse Town anyway.”

It wasn’t until later that Elena was the first to break the silence, “Do you need more water, Kass?”

I blinked once, twice before shaking my head, “I’m fine. Why?”

She frowned, “You’ve been licking your lips for the four hours we’ve been playing.”

“Is it just me? Or did she only do it when Heartless appeared? There! She did it again!” Hazel jabbed her finger in my direction.

I frowned as all eyes fell on me, “I’m not doing it on purpose! Seriously! Stop looking at me like that!”

“Heartless.” Sylvia straddled me, eyes narrowing, “You’re right, Haze.”

“Heartless. Heartless. Heartless.” Each repeat of the name, they leaned in closer.

“Well, the fuck is that about?” Sylvia sat back but not completely off my legs.

Elena sat back and snorted, “Someone’s been playing too much Kingdom Hearts...”

Sylvia snorted almost immediately, shoving Elena over and standing to stretch, “Who was playing four hours of it with us?” She glanced at the clock, “Now get out of my house. I got stuff to do. Homework, cleaning, and shit.”

Hazel grinned, “So, eating, playing, and sleeping.”

The dark forest brunette threw the closet object, the ps2 controller, at her head, “Fuck you.”

Hazel whined and complained while everyone packed and filed out the door.


	3. The Second Dream

Sylvia’s POV

As soon as the last female was out of the house, I sighed quietly, leaning back against the door. I bowed my head and headed back towards my room.

My mother poked her head out of her bedroom, “Honey? Are you alright?”

I opened my mouth to lie but the answer slipped out automatically, “No. I’m not.”

She frowned worriedly and told me to wait in my room. It was a few minutes later that she came into my room with a steaming cup, “Tea.”

I sipped quietly as she began stroking my hair softly. When I had finished awhile later, I laid down on my pillow with closed eyes. I shuddered, “Mom... I forgot my pills yesterday and today...”

She said nothing but instead began singing the lullaby she always sang when the bad days hit, “I remember tears streaming down your face when you said I’ll never let you go. When all those shadows almost killed your light, I remember you said don’t leave me here alone. But all that’s dead and gone and passed tonight. Just close your eyes. The sun is going down. You’ll be alright. No one can hurt you now. Come morning light. You and I’ll be safe and sound. Don’t you dare look out your window, darling, everything’s on fire. The war outside our door keeps raging on. Hold on to this lullaby. Even when the music’s gone. Gone. Just close your eyes. The sun is going down. You’ll be alright. No one can hurt you now. Come morning light. You and I’ll be safe and sound.” She hummed for awhile. The tears had long since began falling when she had began, “Just close your eyes. You’ll be alright. Come morning light. You and I’ll be safe and sound...”

I felt her lips press against my temple gently, her whispers close to my ear, “You’ll be alright, baby girl... I know you will... And things will take a turn for the better... I promise you...”

I didn’t have the energy to question her, let alone comprehend her words as I felt myself slowly slipping into darkness.

-Dream-

The white empty state of the dream faded into a grassy scene of light green almost silver. The dim grey sky fell to the ground like a fallen angel. You could almost hear the cries of a desperate sun through the clouds.

Ahead was a familiar cliff overlooking raging icy black waters. A figure stood close to the edge in a red halter dress. On her back was a bow in the shape of a black and red spiked heart, black claws extruding out the sides like wings. I gasped at the realization.

“Kassy!” I ran towards her, my clothes fading to a white, silver tinted dress with off shoulder straps. The dress ended at mid thigh on the right side side and dropped down diagonally towards my left calf. A black cross of fabric wrapped around my stomach.

But no matter how fast I ran, it was as if we both stood still. “Don’t be afraid...” Four female voices spoke at once. I couldn’t move my head to search for the voice, “You will be there soon.”

“Who are you?” I questioned cautiously.

“You will discover the truth soon. You must protect her!” The voice echoed.

I frowned, eyes watching in horror as Kasandra’s arms raised parallel to the ground, her feet almost curled over the edge, “Of course! Always!"

“You must protect her at all costs! Even if it costs you your life!” Kasandra fell from the edge. Screaming, I dove in after her. The water rushed up to meet me. I woke up screaming.

-End Dream-

As soon as my eyes shot open, my screams stopped abruptly. I scrambled from beneath my tangled covers and rushed into my bathroom. I splashed water up at my face and stared at my pale, shaking reflection. What the hell was that supposed to mean?

It took quite awhile to calm myself down. When I had finally had some success, I immediately called my friends to meet at the park close by.

Soon the girls had rushed over, hounding question after question after question. I had enough and raised my hand, “Stop.”

That shut them up immediately. Kasandra whimpered, “Syvy... You sounded really upset on the phone... You’re worrying me...”

Hazel made a noise of agreement, “She’s right, Vy-Vy. You can’t expect us not to interrogate you after a call like that.”

Elena sighed, “Please. You know you can talk to us, Evans.”

I smirked weakly at the ravenette, “We back at surnames, Janele? I thought we’d made progress.”

She didn’t return the half-assed smile, “We’re worried. Tell us what’s wrong.”

I dropped the smirk, “It was weird...” Kassy and Hazel leaned forward eagerly. I gave them a deadpan look which made them straighten their backs and look away innocently. I explained the dream before frowning, “See? Weird, huh?” The only thing I had left out of the recap was mentioning the bow on Kassy’s back.

Kassy frowned, “It is... I don’t know what to say. What do you guys think it could mean? If she saw the exact same thing detail for detail as I did as if she had been in my dream.”

“Vy-Vy is a psychic!” Hazel grinned, sitting on the swing next to me, “And she’s had a premonition of our invevitable demise!”

I snorted, pushing her backwards off and onto the ground, “Nice to hear what you think of me.”

Elena was quiet. I looked at her in question. She rolled her eyes, “You do realize that doesn’t mean anything right?”

Kassy bit her lip, “But ‘Lena, don’t you think it’s really odd for it to be like that?”

She shook her head, “No. I don’t. I think it was just a coincidence. We just thought it was freaky for Kass to have her dream in the first place and you were worked up and just happened to dream the same thing.”

My eyes narrowed, “Perhaps. But I still think it’s a bit strange and maybe we should look into it. And if I think that, it’s true.”

The ravenette sighed deeply, “Now you’re being arrogant again. I know you forgot your pills the last two days- don’t look at me like that. I figured it out after we left yesterday and that was why you had kicked out us out. So I think in addition to the dream being at the front of your mind, forgetting your pills probably didn’t help either.”

I stood up from the swing and slapped her as hard as I could, “How. Fucking. Dare you.” Tears gathered in her eyes, her hand to her cheek, “You know nothing about what that’s like. You have no right to say those had any impact on anything. I can’t believe you would even think of saying that.”

Out of the corner of my eye I noticed Hazel and Kassy looking horrified at the scene. At once, Elena spun on her heel and hurried away from us down the street.


	4. The Third Dream

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And a strange tale...

Elena’s POV

My hurried steps away from the girls and the park gained speed the further I got. I had tripped so many times by the time my house came into my blurred view, that my knees and palms were covered in dirt and cuts. My shirt and skirt had a few tears in them at the bottom. I fumbled onto my porch and slammed the door open, loud sobs echoing into the empty house.

With uneven footing, I rushed up the stairs and into my bedroom, slamming the door shut behind me. Collapsing onto my bed, I curled up to my pillow with eyes squeezed shut, my cries vibrating my head painfully.

I cried with guilt of my words, for our friendship that was in shambles, for fear of what was happening, and who knew what else. I didn’t stiffen at the touch of someone’s hand rubbing my back soothingly.

Nothing was said for many hours. When my sobbing had eventually quieted to silent sniffles, but tears still falling, I looked up at my mother. She stayed quiet, continuing to rub my back.

“Why do we fight, mom?” I stuttered out quietly.

She kissed my forehead, “It’s perfectly natural, sweetie. You are all very different girls. It’s inevitable really. But you girls have been friends for a very long time. You can get through this. I know you will.” She picked up my book from the nightstand.

She opened it and began to read. It was a tale of far off places, sword fights, magic spells, a prince in disguise, and a twist ending. But I was still staring at my hand next to me.

My mother hummed before tucking me in more comfortably and lying next to me properly, “Once upon a time... There were four magic princesses. And one day they realized it was time for them to pass on their power. They traveled worlds not like our own, as well as our own searching for a suitable prince to give them the child. One by one they had found their suitable lover. But there was a catch. A man was after them. It was an evil man. And he happened to be in love with one of the princesses. Now. Each time a princess had birthed their child, they were forced to flee to a different world. Three of the four were born. One was left. But before they left, something happened...”

I frowned after a moment and faced her, “What? Why did you stop? I’ve never heard this story. I want to know what happens.”

She looked sad of all things. She shook her head and smiled weakly, “Yes. I’m sorry. Where was I? Oh, right. Yes. Something horrific happened. Ta- The last princess was given a child. But in the worst way. I can’t even begin to describe what you seem to realize had happened. They were forced to flee the world until the child was born. They met new friends and after the last child was born, they returned to their home world. This is where the princesses wait to this day.”

I blinked after a moment, “Wait... that’s it? That’s... That... What happened to the man?”

Her expression grew darker. It scared me, “No one knows. He disappeared. And I hope that bastard is gone for good.” She shook her head, “I-I mean I don’t know. Maybe the story will be continued some day.” She pressed a shaking kiss to my forehead and all but ran out of my room.

Well, that was quite odd. I curled up to my pillow, her story swirling in my mind. Why had she never told that story before? It almost seemed like she knew that one like the back of her hand. And such a strange story. It confused me to no end. My confrontation with Sylvia ran circles in my mind once more. I thought and thought and thought until I felt the darkness creeping in.

-Dream-

The white empty state of the dream faded into a grassy scene of forest green almost black. The starry night sky twinkled like fairy dust. The moon shone in the sky, casting the area in an eerie glow.

Ahead was a hill to a familiar cliff overlooking raging icy black waters. Two figures stood ahead of me. First, who stood further away from the cliff, was a female in an asymmetrical silver tinted dress. On her back was a bow in an odd white tree and cross-like symbol, dark grey and black butterfly wings extruding out the sides like wings. The second figure stood at edge of the cliff in a red halter dress, with a spiked heart bow and claws like wings. I gasped at the realization.

“Kassy! Sylvia!” I ran towards them, my clothes fading to a thigh high black off shoulder v-dipped dress with long sleeves that ran down to hug the middle knuckle, covered in navy and violet sparkles.

But no matter how quickly I was, I came no closer. “Don’t be afraid...” Four female voices spoke at once. I couldn’t move my head to search for the voice, “You will be there soon.”

“Who are you?” I questioned even before they finished speaking.

“You will discover the truth soon. You must know where your loyalties lie!” The voice echoed.

My eyes narrowed in worry as Kassy’s arms raised parallel to the ground, her feet almost curled over the edge, “I’ll never betray my friends!”

“You must be loyal to them! They need you! Because you need them...” Kasandra fell from the edge. Screaming, Sylvia dove in after her. I wasn’t far behind. The water rushed up to meet me. I woke up screaming.

-End Dream-

I fumbled with my covers that had become entangled with my limbs. When I was free, I struggled for breath. When I had sufficiently calmed down, I blindly searched for my phone in my bag next to the bed. The girls met me at the park in a very short amount of time.

I opened my mouth to speak to Sylvia but she held up a hand, “Don’t bother, Evans. Just think before you speak next time.”

After a moment I nodded. Kassy whimpered before launching herself, arms around me, “Tell us what’s wrong!”

After I explained the dream, Sylvia smirked, “Still convinced it’s just a coincidence?”

“I’m... skeptical...” I offered, “It’s abnormal. Things like this don’t just happen. But that’s not just the dream. My mother told me the weirdest story. I can’t remember it now but just trust me when I say it was overly strange.”

Hazel ran a few feet away from us to hop on the swing set, “I think it’s great we’ve all made up. But now I’m scared. I guess I’m getting the dream next aren’t I?”

I shook my head, watching her increase in height, “Maybe maybe not. We don’t know until you sleep tonight. And as we have school tomorrow, inform us then.”

Hazel grinned, “Of course!” But as she let herself jump from the swing, she lost footing. She was left tumbling down the short inclined hill. Her scream would haunt us for a couple days.


	5. The Fourth Dream

Hazel’s POV

-Dream-

The white empty state of the dream faded into a grassy scene of granny smith apple green, the night sky’s moon illuminating the blades.

Ahead was a short expanse of land leading to a hill to a familiar cliff overlooking raging icy black waters. Three figures stood ahead of me. First, who stood furthest away from the cliff at the bottom of the hill, was a female in a short dark dress. On her back was a bow with a black heart, shimmering with navy and dark violet sparkles, dark grey angel wings extruding from either sides. The second figure, who stood at the top of the hill, but still further from the cliff, was a female in an asymmetrical silver tinted dress with a tree and cross-like symbol with butterfly wings. The third figure stood at the edge of the cliff in a red halter dress, with a spiked heart bow and claws like wings. I gasped at the realization.

“Kassy! Sylvia! Elena!” I ran in their direction, my clothes fading to a tank top v-dip dress of black, navy, and dark violet polka dot on the front to shorts and the back of yellow, pink, orange, and white polka dots on the back to a skirt cape like fabric past the shorts to my calves. I stopped and gripped the left hip fabric of it to pull towards me, straining my neck to see the bow on my back in a yin yang heart with a white whale tail and black whale tail extruding from either side like wings.

I continued after my friends, but no matter how quickly I ran, they were the same distance. “Don’t be afraid...” Four female voices spoke at once. I couldn’t move my head this time to search for the voice, “You will be there soon.”

“Who are you?! You never answered any of us!” I questioned desperately.

“You will discover the truth soon. You must aide them.” The voice echoed.

I whimpered as Kassy’s arms raised parallel to the ground. Even from my place so far away, I could see her feet almost curling over the edge, “I-I can’t...! Please!”

“Aide them! It is in your blood! It will forever run through your veins!” Kassy fell from the edge. Screaming, Sylvia dove in after her. Elena wasn’t far behind. I screamed as loud as I could, and with all my might went sprinting after them. The water rushed up to meet me. I woke up still screaming.

-End Dream-

I panicked, trying to turn over in my cocoon of blankets to get off my broken arm. My mother came to my rescue and I was hopped up on pills and soothing heat pads. With a long argument that went in my favor, I was off to school.

As soon as I arrived at our usual spot at the school the next day with my left arm in a sling, my three friends were very intense with care.

Kassy fussed motherly about my seat on the bench to complete a small nest of coats and backpacks. Elena broke in with calm questions, but I knew better. She was worried too.

“You’re really clumsy, Hazy. Watch your feet next time, wouldja?” Her voice was teasing but her eyes were soft.

I grinned in response, “You guys are worrywarts! I bounce back! You know I do! And hey, look! It’s Freddy’s new home!” I pulled out my beloved kitchen spork from inside the sling.

Kassy giggled, “We can make a bed for him with a blanket too! I’ll sew one tonight! And it can double as a blanket for your arm to feel better.”

We discussed our ideas for a blanket, complete with a rocket launcher courtesy of Sylvia for the rest of the morning before parting ways to class. When lunch rolled around, as I had forgotten to mention the dream, I was itching to contribute to our recent predicament.

“Guys, so here’s the deal-” But my friends were arguing about the existence of big foot, “Guys, seriously I think you should listen-” The mechanics of hair growth from Kassy overtook my voice, “GUYS, COME ON! LISTEN TO ME!”

Silence fell.

“Thank you. Now. This is probably something you need to hear.” I explained the dream in as much detail as I could.

Sylvia immediately responded with a loud, “HA!” She jabbed her finger dangerously close to Elena’s face, “FUCKING TOLD YOU!”

Elena rolled her eyes, pushing her away, “Yeah yeah. So something really weird is going on and now we’re gonna find out before something bad-” She glanced at me before correcting herself, “Worse happens.”

I pouted, “Hey! It’s not that bad! I just think-”

“Guys.” Everyone looked at Sylvia, “Did anyone notice that Hazy and Janele didn’t mention the bows on our backs?”

“What were they of?” Kassy questioned.

Sylvia blinked and cleared her throat, answering a bit too quickly, “Don’t know.”

I pouted once again. Kassy joined in with eager puppy eyes. Elena looked as much eager as she could as herself.

She stood there awkwardly shuffling her feet and avoiding everyone’s gaze for a long while before running a hand through her hair with a sigh, “Alright... Fine. Did anyone notice anything... else... in their dreams?” With no response from any of us, she continued, “Like... on the outfits? The bows?”

I thought to myself, “Yeah, now that you mention it. Vy-Vy’s looked like-”

Darkness came through my senses and I knew no more.


	6. The First To Fall

Elena’s POV

My stomach dropped as Hazel fell forward. Kassy screamed bloody murder. Sylvia bolted down the hall for the closest authority figure. When the ambulance arrived, neither I, nor Sylvia, nor Kassy were allowed to ride with them. You can imagine the seething look on Sylvia’s face as well as the kicked puppy one on Kassy’s.

Sylvia punched the wall closest to her head, not doing much damage, before storming down the hall. Kassy sniffled and clutched her sketchbook in her hand, her voice wavering, “I-Is she gonna be okay, ‘Lena?”

I swallowed thickly, “I-I don’t know... I don’t know... L-Let’s g-go back to c-class... W-We’ll visit her after s-school...”

She nodded after a long few minutes and dragged her feet down the hall. Later that day, Kasandra, Sylvia, and I found ourselves standing at Hazel’s bedside in her hospital room.

Kassy was sniffling on a chair clutching one of Hazel’s hands, tears streaming down her cheeks with no intention of stopping. Sylvia paced an irregularly shaped circle into the floor. I sat on the other side of our fallen friend, rubbing her other hand gently with a solemn frown.

“What the fuck happened? God fucking damnit. Why would she do this to us?” Sylvia muttered to herself, stopping at the foot of the bed.

Kassy took a shaky breath, “I-Is s-she g-gon-na b-be o-ok-kay...?”

Sylvia gripped the bed railing until her knuckles turned white, “Who the fuck knows.”

I glared at her immediately, “You’re really not helping.”

“Yes, well, when one’s friend is-” She took a deep breath, “I’m... I’m just worried okay. Fuck you.”

I nodded with an empty smile before turning to Kassy, “Everything is going to work out fine, okay, Kass? Trust me. I have this feeling things will turn out right.”

She sniffled and turned her gaze back to Hazel’s form once more, “O-Okay...”

Sylvia banged her head against the railing before shooting her head up, “Wait, what?”

I blinked, “What do you mean what?”

She shoved me out of the way and yanked down the blanket. Kassy protested loudly and slightly physically, although both of them knew Sylvia was the stronger of the two. Both Kassy and I froze at the sight of the downturned blanket. On her stomach was a glowing heart. The left side made of swirling colors of yellows, oranges, pinks, whites, and silvers. The right side of blacks, dark violets, and navies.

“What the fuck is this supposed to mean?” Sylvia poked the heart, only to screech and put her finger in her mouth, “Ow!” Both Kassy and I looked at her alarmed. She touched the right side of the heart and frowned, “Um... what?” She just barely brushed against the left side before hissing again and putting her finger in her mouth once more, her word muffled, “Oay... No’... gool...”

Kassy cautiously touched the light side and screeched, pulling her finger away, “W-What is that?!”

I looked between each of my friends, gulped, and barely touched the light side, and pulled my hand away quickly, “Okay why is it hurting us?”

Sylvia smirked, “Miss I’m the most kind of us all.”

Despite my efforts not to, I could feel my lips curl into a pout, “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Exactly what you think it does.” She snickered.

Kassy smiled ever-so-slightly, “Okay, okay guys. Let’s focus on the issue here.”

Sylvia rolled her eyes, “Yeah yeah. But what IS the issue?”

“I would think that the glowing heart on her stomach would be pretty obvious, Evans. Losing your touch?” I smirked.

She began protesting loudly with which I argued back until the nurses kicked us out.

The three of us separated after an incredibly reluctant goodbye to head to our extracurricular classes. Archery class for Kassy, karate for Sylvia, and I to fencing. My class was filled with distractions, rips in my fencing attire, and a tuned out lecture from my instructor. 

Something strange happened close to the end of the class however. I could start to feel the room spinning as I finally decided to tune into my instructor’s lecture, “-And I know things aren’t going well with your hospitalized friend but paying attention is crucial in dangerous situ... things...to go... heed...” It wasn’t until the man screamed my name that I realized the darkness had begun creeping into my senses. Try as I might, it was an inevitable struggle as I fell to the floor.


	7. The Second To Fall

Sylvia’s POV

When I arrived at our usual spot, to my surprise, only Kasandra was waiting. She doodled who knew what on her math test.

I smirked, letting my bag drop, “What’s more important than math, eh Kassy?”

She stuck out her tongue, not looking up, “Harry Potter of course. Teacher mentioned something and then all I could think about was Dobby.”

I snorted before lying down on the bench with my head in her lap, ignoring her protests. She began running her fingers through my hair to signal she gave up after awhile, “So, where’s Janele?”

She sighed, pausing in her movements, “I don’t know. She wasn’t online last night after practice so I figured she was swamped with homework. But this morning she wasn’t answering any of her texts. She would have told us by now where she was.”

“Yes, I hear you, now continue. I didn’t say stop touching my hair, bitch.” She snorted but complied nonetheless, “But anyway. I didn’t get any text either. And I wasn’t online last night either sorry. Practice went a little late and then mom took me out to refill the pills and so I crashed almost immediately.”

Kassy shrugged, “S’okay. I got a few projects I’ve been working on done without your distractions.”

“Hey! Who you callin’ a distrac-” Coincidentally, a distraction occurred. I felt my phone buzzing in my pocket. Kassy continued stroking my scalp gently as I answered half-heartedly, “Hello? You bitch! We’ve been worried sick about you! Actually Kassy has. I haven’t. ...What? No kidding. Hope you’re okay. ...Hey! I do mean it! ...Whatever. Don’t believe me then. You coming or what? ...Yeah, of course we will. ...Yeah, see you then.” 

“When’s she coming?” Kassy inquired, letting go of my hair.

“Heeeeey... I didn’t say stoooooop...” I whined, but sat up anyway, “And how do you know it wasn’t someone else I was talking to? Eavesdropper. You’re too young for my slutty shenanigans.”

Kassy snorted, “Yeah right! And I am too old enough! Fourteen isn’t that bad. And I’m around you guys all the time anyway. You’re a bad influence. And of course it was her.”

I rolled my eyes with a grin, “Yeah yeah, Ms. Smarty-pants. We’ll be meeting up at lunch.” I paused for the convenient bell ring, “And there it is. See ya then.”

We parted ways and met up at lunch to Elena waiting for us. She smiled weakly. Kassy freaked out and ran to her, copying what she had done with Hazel the previous day by making a nest of coats and backpacks.

And for good reason too. She looked really pale, “Jesus Christ, Janele. The fuck happened to you? You look like death. Why are you even here?”

She coughed weakly, “I don’t know. Last night I was feeling a bit faint. Probably ‘cause I didn’t drink anything yesterday.”

Kassy whimpered, “I have water here! You can have some of mine!”

She shook her head, “No, I’m fine. Really.”

I rolled my eyes, “You’re an idiot. Drink it.”

Elena narrowed her eyes before going into another coughing fit. She sat up straighter and stood for easier breathing access, “...Alright, fine. You win. Let me just get my own bot-”

Kassy all but screamed bloody murder as Elena crumpled to the ground. My eyes widened, I swore, and bolted down the hallway for help. Once again, we were denied the ride to the hospital. With a determined promise, Kassy and I departed ways.

As soon as the final bell rang, as I had already snuck out of class, I didn’t give Kasandra a chance to catch her breath before gripping her wrist and dragging her to her locker and out the door. When we arrived at the hospital, we all but ran to our fallen friend’s room.

Kassy immediately dragged a chair to her bedside and grasped her hand, tears trailing down her cheeks, “Oh, ‘Lena... W-We’re g-gonna f-find o-out w-what’s g-going o-on...”

I slammed my fists on the end of the bed rails, “Damn right we will!”

Kassy jumped but otherwise didn’t respond. After awhile she gasped. I raised an eyebrow, “The mark!” I motioned with my head to elaborate, “On her stomach! Zelly had one! Maybe ‘Lena has one!”

“Worth a shot.” I shrugged. We both lowered the blanket to her hips and lifted the hospital gown. On her stomach was a dark glowing heart of blacks, dark violets, and navies, “It matches the dark part on Hazel’s. The fuck does that mean?”

“This is really starting to scare me, Syvy... what are we gonna do?” Kassy wrapped her arms around herself.

I gripped her shoulders, forcing her look me in the eye, “We’re gonna go home. We’re gonna go to artillery and judo. And then we’re gonna come back to school tomorrow and we will be fine and dandy. Got it?”

She whimpered, nodding furiously, “Okay okay! I believe you!”

“Good. Now get off your ass and let’s get goin’.” She squealed loudly as I smacked her ass on the way out the door.

“So, speaking of ass. Real subtle staring at his in English today I hear.” I snickered. She immediately turned red.

“Shut up!” I rolled my eyes, “Nice comeback.”

We continued arguing until we finally parted ways. I put all my effort into my class for once.


	8. The Third To Fall

Sylvia’s POV

“Fuck! Fuck that, fuck this, fuck you!”

Kassy hid behind her sketchbook, peeking over the top as I exploded at Nathan who dared question something I had said about our plans.

Nathan gave a deadpan look, “A more polite answer could have just been a fuck no.”

I rolled my eyes, “Fuck fucking manners with you, fuckass.”

I felt a pat on my shoulder by Kassy. I crossed my arms and pouted, “M-Maybe we should just... listen to Sylvia for now. We, um, can’t w-waste too much time, but we can always-”

Nathan rolled his cold eyes, “I can’t believe you’re stupid enough to listen to this at all. You must be more of an imbecile than I thought.”

I barely registered the glistening in Kassy’s eyes before I saw red. Or at least red tints. I had my hand pulled back ready to punch his lights out before I was knocked off balance to the side with a flash of pink and purple. I felt my head hit the floor before darkness crept through.

Kassy’s POV

I screamed quite loudly when I saw blood trickling down to my friend’s temple. I barely registered Nathan pulling me tight to his chest, my screams muffled in his chest. I registered his muttered shushing noises into my ear a few times before I believe I went into shock.

My thoughts raced and stumbled even as I registered Nathan's voice above my head, shouting for help, for anyone at all to come. Too soon the sounds of a crowd beginning to form surrounded me and bodies pressed close as the onlookers tried to get a peek.

The principal's voice demanded a volunteer to call for an ambulance, focusing his efforts on keeping the crowd controlled and back from Sylvia's body on the ground. I forced myself to pull away from Nathan's protective embrace to reach a shaking hand into my pocket. I couldn’t register the numbers I pressed. I felt Nathan, as swiftly and gently as he could, take the phone from me and dialing the number himself. As if from far away, I could hear his voice speaking into the phone.

This time, when the ambulance arrived, I was permitted to ride with Sylvia on the way to the hospital, Nathan convincing them to let me go. I held her hand tightly in mine, tears falling uncontrolled as I watched her face, unblinking glossy eyes staring up. 

"Syvy...please...God, please be okay..." I squeezed my eyes shut.

I found myself later sitting outside Sylvia’s hospital room with Sylvia’s mother. She hadn’t said anything other than a simple question of the progress of Sylvia’s condition to the doctors.

Finally, the last doctor emerged. She took a deep breath and my heart sank, “She’s stable, but with a wound like that it’s very slim. It is very likely she won’t wake.”

I shoved past both of them and sprinted to my friend’s bedside. I screamed out sobs, clutching Sylvia’s hand like a lifeline. 

I couldn’t tell how much time had passed. My sobs quieted to silent sniffles as I rubbed her hand gently, “I-I’m s-scared, S-Syvy... W-What a-am I-I g-gonna d-do?”

I took the illusion of her hand squeezing mine in comfort as I squirmed in my seat to get comfortable. I noticed a soft glow beneath the blankets almost immediately. I glanced behind me out of the corner of my eye to make sure the coast was clear before curling down the blanket. My hands shot to my mouth to cover the scream that would surely come out at the discovery.

On Sylvia’s stomach was a glowing white, silver tinted branching, anchor-like symbol. I choked on another sob, forcing the words from my mouth, “K-Kingdom H-Hearts...”

Why Kingdom Hearts? I attempted to wrack through my brain through the mental exhaustion, but to no avail.

00000

I curled up underneath my covers, clutching a stuffed shadow heartless plushie that Elena had given to me awhile back.

“She’s going to fine, Kass. Really.” I shuddered quietly at the voice of Nathan through the phone.

“I-I’m scared, Nathan...” I swallowed thickly, “W-What’s happening?”

“I know you’re scared. But trust me. She’s fine. Will you trust me?” He asked, his voice growing quieter.

I swallowed a wave of tears, “Y-Yes... Yes, I believe you...”

“That’s good. Now get some rest. You’ll feel much better. I’ll see you in the morning, Kasandra.” Nathan whispered.

“Goodnight...” I smiled slightly to myself, a few tears falling down my cheeks.

I heard a soft sigh through the phone before the call ended. I curled up further and awaited sleep.


	9. The Last To Fall

Kassy’s POV

I felt a hand grip my shoulder firmly, but gently, steering me in a different direction that I had been heading. I hadn’t even realised my eyes had closed until my guide stopped us and twirled me around slowly. I came face to face with a worried Nathan. Or as worried as Nathan’s usual cold indifferent look could look. But his eyes looked softer.

“Kass... Did you sleep at all after I hung up?” I avoided his eyes and clutched my heartless plushie tighter in my grip, staring holes into it. I felt his hands grip my biceps, “Kasandra, did you rest at all?”

I shivered before answering him, not looking up from the yellow eyes of my doll, “No...” He sighed deeply before pulling me to his chest. I melted into his warmth, “I’m sorry...”

“Shh... You need to rest... Just close your eyes... I’ve got you...” He began humming very softly into my ear. I smiled slightly, red painting my cheeks. It was my favorite version of Dearly Beloved. The reprise from the second game. Despite my efforts not to, and the fact that we were at school, I felt my eyelids drooping. I attempted to keep some consciousness, if only to keep this moment with him close. As gently as he could, I could feel myself being lifted up against him. I heard Nathan’s voice as if it were far away as he charmed his way past a few authority figures on our way towards the exit door according to the light breeze that whispered its promises against my skin.

I swam out from unconsciousness, feeling soft material beneath my fingers. Slowly with a weak groan, my eyes opened to the sight of Nathan’s face quite close to mine, his fingers running gently through my hair. 

I opened my mouth to whisper his name, but he shook his head. I closed it. I closed my eyes once more with a small smile. I could almost cry. If only the others were awake. I could tell them about this for hours. Sylvia would never let me live it down. Hazel would be planning the wedding. Elena would fabricate her words to make it even better.

I yawned, blushing soon after and avoiding his eyes. The corner of his mouth twitched up ever so slightly and I heard a small amused noise.

I let out a gentle breath. He closed his eyes for a brief moment, before murmuring, “Everything is going to be fine, Kasandra...”

I swallowed thickly, my voice low to not break the quiet illusion, “How can you be so sure?”

“Do you trust me?” He leaned closer in the small space.

I shivered, “N-Nathan, I-”

“Do you trust me, Kasandra?” He whispered once more.

I nodded, “Yes, Nathan. I trust you.” My eyelids began to feel heavier. I blinked rapidly, attempting to keep them open, “I-I’m just sc-”

“It’s alright... Everything will be fine...” My vision began blurring. To my surprised horror, I noticed Nathan’s eyes began lightening until they were a bright golden yellow. I heard his voice as if it were far away, “Everything will be fine, your highness...”

Just before the darkness crept in completely, I felt the gentle pressing of his lips upon mine.

00000

“We have word that the final maiden has fallen.” A silky feminine voice echoed in a dark room in front of a handful of other, some quite odd, figures, “Now we must keep focus on the one who shall hold the Key. Things may be working in our favor presently, but one must never underestimate unpredictability. Be on your guards and everything will unfold. I can assure you. We will succeed.” Soon the room was filled with an array of laughter, some more maniacal than others.


	10. Daydream Upon Neverland

-April 1, 2009-

Hazel’s POV

The far away sound of wind rushing by became more prominent as I swam closer to consciousness. When my eyes finally opened, I saw what looked like a volcano getting taller. My vision took in the rest of the area to the horrifying discovery of my quickening voyage towards the forest below me.

I began screaming; flailing my arms to grasp the air as if it would stop my falling. The screams turned to ones of pain as I cradled my broken arm to my chest. I could feel every branch and leaf brush, scratch, and penetrate my skin and clothing on the way down. I landed on the ground with a loud thud.

Right on my broken arm.

I didn’t recognize the piercing screams that echoed through the trees. Birds, primates, and other animals echoed their distress, fleeing from their hiding places.

Darkness overtook my senses immediately.

When I gained consciousness once more, I could feel a gentle rocking of my body. Letting out a week groan, my eyes opened and took in a quick survey of the room.

I found myself lying upon a light colored dirty hammock in a dimly candlelit room with wooden walls. A dresser stood beside the door in the corner. I moved my elbow an inch up, anticipating in fright for the pain. However, it was only a heavily sore feeling as my arm was wrapped in bandages and in a sling. One handed, I attempted to climb out of the bed.

It was an abrupt failure and the entire hammock flipped upside down and I landed once more on my incapacitated arm.

I screamed once more, tears trailing down my cheeks. The door swung open. Through blurry vision and pain clouded mind, I observed a large round man with greying hair approach. I whimpered, attempting to back away until my head hit the wall. I squeezed my eyes shut tightly.

“You’re awake, miss! Oh!” He halted his steps, his nasally voice pausing, “Don’t be frightened, miss. I’m only here to check on your injuries. Captain’s orders.”

I blinked once, the blurriness dissipating. I blinked once more and gasped. I recognized his voice, “Smee!”

The man nodded, “Yes that is my name. Do I know you, miss?”

I grinned widely, “Nowaynowaynoway. You don’t mean to tell me... I’m in Neverland?! Hell if I’m dreaming really good!”

“Smee, is the girl awake now? You were ordered to find me immediately, you blubbering idiot.” A deep husky voice boomed from behind the door.

Smee began stammering out an apology, opening the door quickly. I gulped at the sight of the tall dark haired man in a long crimson captain’s coat. I gaped in awe a moment later as he stepped closer with a cold indifferent expression.

“Hook!” I squealed loudly, “This is so weird! I’m not dreaming am I? Right?!”

I pinched my side with my good hand, squealing happily at the slight pain. The tall man raised an eyebrow, “What is your name, my dear?”

“Hazel! Hazel Slazahia.” My smile faltered at the strange look on his face.

“Slazahia? Sage...?” He whispered.

I blinked, “...You know my mom?”

“Your mother?” He looked away, “I wondered what had become of her. Is she... well?”

Smee piped up, “Oh! Sage, yes! A lovely woman! The crew misses her singing and dancing dearly.”

I snorted, “If you really knew my mom, you’d know she’s a sucky singer and horrible dancer.”

Hook smirked, “She was a delight nonetheless.” His smirk fell abruptly, “Do you wish to follow in her footsteps?”

I blinked, “Wait, what?”

He growled, “Do you seek piracy or insist on following blindly to that brat Pan?”

I didn’t answer for a few moments before grinning widely, “Peter’s here too!? Oh man this day can’t get any better! But I don’t know what I’m doing.” My grin faded, “I don’t know what I’m doing here. How did I get here? I-I was falling... From the sky or something...”

Hook nodded once, “Well, my dear. You can stay here on my ship, as we will not be returning to shore for some time.”

I pouted, “Alright fine!” With a grin, I struggled to my feet with one hand all but climbing the wall, “Can I go explore?!” Without waiting for a response, I ducked underneath his raised arm which had been holding the door open.

I raced down the hall, opening a few doors at random before finally seeing blue sky. I walked out in awe to see various men working or lazing around the deck.

All eyes fell on me. I giggled and waved, “Hello, folks! What’s crackalackin’?”

One of the men in a group lounging near one of the sets of stairs at the other end of the deck stood up silently. Every inch of skin that showed was covered in tattoos.

I heard footsteps echo behind me. “Men. Most of you should remember Sage Slazahia.” A murmur of recognition swept through the air, “This is her daughter, Hazel. Treat her all the same. If a hair is out of line you’ll walk the plank.”

I giggled once more. The tattooed man suddenly grinned widely and hurried over to me. I blinked, stepping back a step before he picked me up and set me on top of his shoulder, “SING FOR US!”

Loud roaring cheers shook the floorboards. A dark red flashed across my cheeks, though I could feel my grin widening, “I think I inherited my mom’s skills though...”

Hook smiled wickedly, putting a warm hand gently on my shoulder connected to my broken arm, “My dear, you must let us hear at least one!”

With a quick deep breath, I began one of the many Disney pirate songs I had in store. With my voice on the song, my eyes on the dancing crew, and my hand on my new friend Bill Jukes, I ignored the feelings, and quiet almost inaudible voices in the back of my mind insisting that I look deeper into what had happened over the last couple of days.


	11. Arabian Dream

-April 2, 2009-

Elena’s POV

When I awoke from the apparent slumber I had been in, as I could tell from the groggy feeling that more than usual came after sleep, I immediately came to the conclusion that someone needed to put on the air conditioning or grab ice or something cold in general.

With a low moan, I forced my eyes to crack open, only to immediately regret the action. Blinding sunlight was beating down. I could almost feel my skin wanting to dance off in strips and run away from the immense heat. I twitched feeling back into my fingers before clawing beneath me. I gasped at the white hot sand shifting beneath my touch. I manoeuvred myself onto my stomach and blinked around me. Sand blew gently in the hot air for miles. There wasn’t a sign of civilization for miles.

What on earth was I dreaming about an endless desert for?

I struggled to my feet only to fall back down onto my knees. I guess I hadn’t entirely woken my muscles yet. I frowned down at my jeans. Fire felt like it was licking at my legs. I swallowed thickly at the increasing pain.

Wait... Pain? But this was a dream!

I was just getting a painful injection at the hospital. That was it. Just a dream.

I chanted the three words under my breath as I finally managed to get to my feet and began to walk.

I was starting to feel sick to my stomach after much time had passed. I couldn’t tell what time it was, and there was still sand everywhere I looked. I fell to my knees, my head starting to pound. I could feel my vision beginning to blur.

“Hey, are you okay?!” I looked up weakly to see a blurry dark haired man hovering on a purple carpet approaching.

I coughed, my answer mumbled, before I fell forward onto the burning sand. I felt hands around me moments later, lifting me and setting me down onto a soft and cool surface. I sighed quietly, my eyes closing the last inch.

I felt a hand on my forehead before the man spoke, “Jees... How long were you out there? And in those clothes. Do you have a death wish or something?”

I groaned weakly, “S-Shut up...”

When we stopped moving, I forced my eyes opened if only just to see my surroundings. We were in a small building with tattered drapes of fabric strewn everywhere on the walls and floor. The man carefully set me down on a ring of pillows and blankets before dabbing a small cloth in a barrel. Cool water was set on my forehead.

I felt much better, “Um... Thank you...”

He grinned, “No problem. You looked like you were in need of some help. What were you doing out there anyway? It’s the middle of the day and with those clothes, it’d be really stupid to go out there on foot. What gives? And who are you?”

I snickered slightly, regretting the pounding the action sent to my head, “I’m Elena... And I have no idea how I ended up in the middle of the desert.” I mumbled to myself, “Some weird dream...”

He raised an eyebrow, “Dream? Jees. You must have gotten a lot of sun. Well, I’m Aladdin. Are you not from Agrabah or something?”

I gasped immediately before he finished his sentence and sat up, ignoring the headache and nausea, “Wait, Aladdin? Agrabah? No way. No way in hell.”

“You... know me?” He asked warily, “Um.... Might want to lie down until you cool down...”

I heeded his suggestion, putting a hand to my forehead, “You gotta be kidding me... this isn’t real... I’m dreaming... Only a dream...”

“A dream? What are you talking about?” He tilted his head.

“I’m... I don’t know. I wasn’t in a desert before. I just appeared on the sand. Something was going on with my friends and I. I don’t know what I’m going to do...” I closed my eyes with a grimace.

“Well first things first. Here.” I heard rustling on the other side of the area before he kneeled down next to me once again with royal purple fabric. I gave him a questioning look. He smiled, “Appropriate clothes. You might want to change. Those clothes you have on look like they might kill you.”

I bit my lip before accepting the clothing. He turned his back to me. A dark red crept across my cheeks, but I slowly stripped down, careful not to rattle my head too much. I whimpered as the major waves of pain caught up after I was done. I squeezed my eyes shut, lying down immediately. Although I felt a bit better with cooler clothing.

Aladdin put another cloth on my neck, “It’s best just to sleep it off.” It took quite awhile before I could ignore the pounding waves wracking my brain, but I finally fell asleep.

When I awoke once more, I was immediately greeted by the sight of a small monkey in my face. I screamed loudly. It chattered loudly and scrambled off my chest, running over to Aladdin next to the ledge. It climbed up his back, hiding inside the back of said man’s vest.

“Abu!” Aladdin chuckled, “You just scared her is all! Chill out. You feeling better now?”

I nodded, sitting up, “Yeah, I think so. Damnit. That was really painful. And now I’m pretty sure I’m not in a dream.” I sighed deeply, running a hand through my dark hair – which in retrospect is never a good idea to have in the middle of a desert – mumbling to myself, “Things are going to get worse I just know it...”

Aladdin tilted his head unsurely, “So... What’s your plan then?”

I blinked three times before frowning, “Ah... Plan... Um... I don’t know. Wait. Have you seen my friends? Three girls. A short brunette, a tall long golden brunette, and a short forest brunette with an attitude problem.”

He shook his head. My heart sank, “No, but it’s a big desert. We can start looking in town if you’re up to it.”

With a nod, I followed him across planks, down staircases, and around corners. We trailed through the city with my clinging to him almost the entire way. When we had made it to a group of market stalls, there was a blur of shouting and then we were running.

I was confused and more than a little disorientated. Aladdin took a sharp turn, my hand in his, down a small crevice alleyway. It turned out to be a dead end. Three large men arrested Aladdin. They grasped my wrists and protested loudly.

“Hey, get your filthy hands off me! I’ve done nothing wrong!” I struggled in vain.

“With charges of assisting this street rat, you are under arrest.” The largest man snarled, his rancid breath tickling my nose.

“Hey, what?! No!” I struggled and struggled, but in the end, we were both thrown haphazardly into a dark murky cell our ankles chained together and to the wall.


	12. Walking In Andante

-April 3, 2009-

Sylvia’s POV

When I began to gain consciousness, I cursed my friends to hell and back. Who thought it was a good idea to leave me on the concrete ground after passing out from drinking?

Wait...

My eyes shot open to a starlit navy sky, buildings surrounding me. I sat up quickly. Groaning, I held my pounding head in my palms, digging the heels into my temples, “Fuuuuck...”

When the pain subsided, I cautiously reopened my eyes. I was a spacious alleyway. A large box sat beneath a ledge a few feet away. That looked familiar.

Why was that familiar?

I gasped out loud. Wait. Wasn’t I just in the hospital? What the fuck? I scrambled to my feet and stumbled out of the alley, using the walls and various crates as leverage. The full square came into few and I screamed. This wasn’t a dream.

A few teenagers, adults, and children who were walking, standing, or sitting looked up. I ignored them. Well, if you could call staring them down ignoring them. I walked closer to the stair case. Each of them backed away, avoiding close proximity. The children ran away completely. I frowned, walking down the stairs and stood in the middle of the square. What was happening? I looked around with narrowed eyes before they rested upon a silver building at the top of stairs with a large sign.

Accessory Shop.

“No fucking way.” I breathed out, “No. Fucking. Way.”

I couldn’t get my feet to bring me to the doors fast enough. I ripped open both of them with a large grin.

A buff blond man in a white shirt turned to face me with a piece of wheat grass between his lips, “Hey, there kid. How can I help-”

“NO FUCKING WAY!” I screamed, running to the counter, slamming my palms on it.

The man jumped a few feet, his right eye twitching to show his irritation, “Look kid, I’d appreciate you keepin’ the noise levels down. Bad fer business.”

I hopped up and down, “Nofuckingwaynofuckingwaynofuckingway. I’m in Traverse Town?”

“You hit yer head or somethin’, kid?” He raised an eyebrow.

My grin didn’t dissipate, “I don’t know! I know I was in a hospital on my world in a coma and the next thing I know I’m in the alley!”

“...Right. Sorry ‘bout yer world, kid.” He frowned.

I waved my hand in the air as if to physically brush away his words, “No, I don’t think my world’s gone out yet. I think something just happened to uuuuss- crap. Have you seen three other girls? A short brunette, a tall long golden brunette, and tall ravenette with her head in her ass.”

He raised an eyebrow before shaking his head. I deflated onto the counter, bottom lip jutting out, “Hey, cheer up, kid. It’s a big town. Maybe you’ll find ‘em.”

I straightened up and thought for a moment, remembering specific details of the Traverse Town maps before nodding once, “Thanks, gramps.”

“Hey! Name’s not gramps, stupid brat. Name’s Cid.” He puffed out his chest arrogantly, “If you run into trouble, you come back here. I’ll look out for ya.”

I snorted and rolled my eyes, “Yeah okay. My name is Sylvia. Sylvia Evans. And I would like to also-”

“Wait a fucking moment. What was that?” His eyes widened and he slammed his fists onto the counter.

I recoiled before frowning, “What the fuck, dude?”

“What did you say?” He gripped my shoulders tightly.

I blinked twice, “Um... And I would like to also-”

“No, no, no! Before that!” He growled.

“Syyyyliva...?” I questioned slowly.

“The last name goddamnit, kid!” He let go, throwing his hands up exasperated.

“Oh!” I rolled my eyes, “Why didn’t you say that in the first place? Evans you mean?”

“No fucking way...” He ran a hand down his face, “Oh man. Leon’s gonna wanna hear this one.”

I perked up at that, “Okay, so what I’m getting out of this is that you guys know my name and Leon has something to do with it? Sweet motherfucker this day just keeps getting better and better!”

“Don’t get too happy, kid.” He groaned, “Anyway. You should find Leon. He can probably answer your questions.”

My jaw dropped, “What?! You won’t tell me anything now?!”

He shrugged before frowning. That was a look I didn’t remember seeing often, “Is... Is everyone doin’ good?”

I blinked once. Twice. Three times, “...What?”

“Evans... That name. Are you... Her daughter?” My brain took a few minutes to catch up with those words.

“...Excuse me?” I gaped, “You know my mother?”

“Oh, good lord we’re screwed...” He mumbled. I pouted a few moments later, “Leon’ll explain things. Go find him. He should be at the hotel in the Second District. Just... be careful. There’s heartless everywhere.”

A grin slowly grew on my face, “Motherfucker yes!”

“Seriously, Silver. Watch your back. They’re ruthless.” He frowned.

“Heeeey... It’s Sylvia.” I emphasized, “Not Silver.”

He shrugged, “Go find Leon. Wait.” I frowned in confusion as he hopped the counter, “I’m coming with you. Let me get my big gun. Stay here. I’ll just be a minute.”

He jumped up behind him, dragging a ladder down from the ceiling. Another grin grew on my lips. He disappeared into the alcove above. Smirking, I slowly backed closer to the doors before bolting out. With a quick look over the square, I squealed quietly, running around the corner and up a short staircase to the back of the shop and to a set of gigantic wooden doors. I put my palms on the two large extruding panels and took a deep breath. Slowly, I pushed them opened and stepped forward. I observed the shops. A loud echoing of the doors slamming sounded behind me. I gulped.

Shadows began seeping up from the ground. My eyes widened. They each solidified into large bug-like creatures with glowing golden yellow eyes. They were even bigger than they had been at home. I backed up a few steps slowly. The shadows crept closer. One pounced, claws extended. I screamed and dove under before scrambling to my feet and heading to the doors of the hotel.

I hoped I picked the right one.

Thankfully I had. Screaming Leon’s name, I ran down the hall. A door opened and I dove in, tackling the person into the room. I heard the door slam behind me.

I looked up from the person, an apology half-way out my mouth before I stopped. A brunette man with a scar across his face glared up at me. I grinned widely before rolling off.

“Are you okay?” I sat up and looked at the short ravenette woman who spoke. My grin would give the Cheshire Cat a run for his money.

“Yep. This day definitely couldn’t get any better.” I sighed dreamily, “I’m Sylvia. Sylvia Evans. Cid told me you’d give me answers.”

The looks on their faces made my stomach turn.

“He also told you to wait for him.” I didn’t have to turn around to figure out who the person behind me was.


	13. Station of Awakening

-April 4, 2009-

Sora’s POV

Was I drowning?

I gently floated through the darkness. Undetermined time passed. I felt my feet touch solid ground. But there was only darkness. Frowning, I stepped forward. The darkness below my feet fluttered away, breaking into small doves. I covered my face with my arms from the bright light that was revealed. When I lowered them, I observed I was standing on a green platform with an image of a raven haired woman in a yellow and blue dress and seven men’s faces.

“So much to do...” I looked around for the source of the melodic young man’s voice, “So little time... Take your time... Don’t be afraid... The door is still shut... Now step forward... Can you do it?”

I stepped closer to the middle of the platform, but there was still only darkness as my company. Three short pillars rose from the ground at different edges of the platform with floating weapons. One with a sword, another with a shield, and the third with a staff.

“Power sleeps within you. If you give it form... It will give you strength. Choose well.” The voice faded.

“Go for the shield this time!” This new voice was female. It sounded very far away.

Cautiously, I walked over to the shield’s platform. I grasped the bands on the back with one hand and held the edge with the other, “You’ve chosen the power of the guardian. Kindness to aid friends. A shield to repel all. Is this the power you seek?” After a short moment of hesitation, I nodded.

The shield disappeared in a ball of light from my hands, “Your path is set. Now what will you give up in exchange?”

The far away female’s voice spoke once more, “I really think you should give up the sword, if you chose the shield. This way it’s purely for protection. You can save everyone.”

I bit my lip for a moment before calling out to the voice, “Who are you?”

Silence met my ears.

With a small sigh, I stared at the sword for a prolonged moment before grasping the hilt with one hand and gently holding the blade in the other. The male’s voice returned, “The power of the warrior. Invincible courage. A sword of terrible destruction. You give up this power?”

I nodded slowly. The sword disappeared in a ball of light, “You’ve chosen the power of the guardian. You’ve given up the power of the warrior. Is this the form you choose?”

After I had nodded, the last weapon disappeared into a ball of light and the small platforms snapped and sank diagonally into the floor. The floor beneath my feet shattered. I gasped, falling through the darkness once more. I felt the shards slicing my skin thinly, not deeply. My feet once more gently landed on solid ground.

This time I stood on a purple platform with an image of a blonde woman in a silvery blue dress. The shield materialised in my hands.

The male’s voice from before spoke, “You’ve gained the power to fight. Use this power to protect yourself and others. There will be times you have to fight. Keep your light burning strong.”

Small shadows seeped up from the floor, solidifying into large bug-like creatures with glowing golden yellow eyes. I fought against them until they had all disappeared.

“Behind you!” The female voice from before gasped. Her voice sounded more prominent.

I spun around just in time to block the oncoming claws of the creature that had pounced. I fought a few more of the shadows. Darkness began swirling beneath my feet. I gasped, clawing at the air, as I was sucked into its clutches.

I clawed and clawed before gasping. My eyes shot open. I looked around and felt the floor beneath me. Another platform. This red one was of a blonde woman in a magenta dress with thorns twirling around behind her. A brown door stood at the edge of the platform.

On the other side of the door was not what I had expected. I stood on the lookout of the play island I lived on. Three of my friends stood at different points.

The mysterious male’s voice spoke once more, “The door won’t open just yet. First, tell me more about yourself.”

I walked over to the curled up brunette in a yellow dress, “Selphie-”

“What’s most important to you?” She hadn’t let me speak and what’s more is her eyes were glossy and empty.

I frowned for a moment before answering, “Friendship.”

She sighed, “Is friendship such a big deal?”

I didn’t have a response to that and decided to speak to my short dirty blond friend, “Tidus-”

He didn’t let me speak either and his eyes were the same as Selphie’s, “What are you so afraid of?”

I swallowed thickly before answering, “...Getting old I guess?”

“Getting old? Is that really so scary?” He sighed.

I shook my head with a mirrored sigh before stepping over to my tall tan friend, “Wakka-”

Once more I wasn’t able to finish and his eyes were glossy and empty, “What do you want outta life?”

I thought for a moment, “Hm... To be strong.”

“To be strong, huh?” He sighed.

The young male’s voice spoke, “You want friendship. You’re afraid of getting old. You want to be strong. Your adventure begins at midday.”

I shrugged, staring out to the endless ocean, “Sounds good.”

“The day you will open the door is both far off and very near.” Darkness captured my senses once again.

When the darkness receded, I observed that I stood on another platform. This yellow one had an image of a brunette woman in a golden yellow dress, a brown beast behind her. I stepped closer to the middle of the platform.

I began panicking as the man’s voice spoke, “The closer you get to the light...” My own shadow began lifting from the floor and stood on its own, “The greater your shadow becomes...” The shadow grew and grew until it was undistinguishable from when it had been attached to me. The shield materialised in my hands, “But don’t be afraid and don’t forget...”

I shielded the creature’s attacks and attempted my own, but none were working. It was then that I noticed a swirling ball of darkness behind the creature. But it didn’t feel like the same darkness. When the darkness had dissipated, a short brunette was standing on the edge.

Her chestnut eyes flickered with uncertainty between the creature and I for a few moments before she put her hands to her mouth, “Sora!”

My eyes widened and I almost didn’t block the creature’s claws. Her voice! It was the one I had heard before!

She gasped, “Sora! Hit its hands! That’s its weak point!”

With a nod of acknowledgement, I attacked. It was a dance soon after and the girl was forced to dodge the creature as well. The smaller bug-like shadows soon materialized. I fought them off but when I looked back to check on the girl, I gasped. The creature had her trapped at the very edge. The creature was too close for her to run beneath it or dodge its raised claws.

Without a second thought I took the moment of opportunity of its raised arm. There was enough room for me to run and grab her. I tackled her and we both went soaring off the edge of the platform. I wrapped my arms around her and she tightened hers around me, burying her head in my chest.

The male’s voice from before sounding far away and blocked by static, “But don’t be afraid. You hold the mightiest weapon of all. So don’t forget... You are the one who will open the door.”


	14. Bustin' It Up On The Beach

-April 4, 2009-

Sora’s POV

My ocean eyes scanned the ocean from my spot on the beach. Yawning, I laid back down, determined to sleep a little longer...

“Whoa!” I spun up and around onto my knees to face the short red head that had startled me, “Gimme a break, Kairi.”

She giggled, “Sora, you lazy bum. I knew that I’d find you snoozing down here.”

“No! This huge black THING swallowed me up! I couldn’t breathe, I couldn’t- Ow!” I rubbed the back of my head with my lip jutted out.

Kairi threw a stone up and down in her hand a few times, “Are you still dreaming?”

“It wasn’t a dream!” I frowned, looking down at the sand, “Or was it? I don’t know. What was that place?” And who was the girl? “So bizarre...”

Kairi snorted, walking closer to the water’s edge, hands behind her back, “Yeah, sure.”

“Say, Kairi...” The perfect moment to ask the question that’d been on mind the last couple days! “What was your hometown like? You know, where you grew up?”

“I’ve told you before,” She said with a laugh, “I don’t remember.”

“Nothing at all?” I pressed.

“Nothing.” She echoed.

“You ever want to go back?” I tilted my head, even though she wasn’t looking at me.

“Well, I’m happy here.” She did a little shrug.

“Really...” I trailed off in thought.

“But you know...” She started, “I wouldn’t mind going to see it.”

“I’d like to see it too.” I grinned, “Along with any other worlds out there! I want to see ‘em all!”

Kairi turned around with a wide smile, “So what’re we waiting for?”

“Hey, aren’t you guys forgetting about me?” Both of us turned to the source of the husky boy’s voice. Our silverette friend held a large log in his hands, “So, I guess I’m the only one working on the raft.” Without warning, he threw the log in my direction, causing me to fall backwards, “And you’re just as lazy as he is!”

“Riiiikuuuuu!” I whined, but I was ignored.

Kairi giggled, “So you noticed. Okay, we’ll finish it together.” Riku sat down next to me just as I had finally shoved the log away, “I’ll race you!”

I raised an eyebrow at her words, “Huh?”

Riku snorted, “What, are you kidding?”

“Ready? Go!” Riku and I exchanged a look before we were bolting down the beach.

When we had separated to gather the rest of our supplies, I met Kairi to see what else we needed, “So, can you gather the rest of the supplies? Sora, are you listening to me?”

I blushed a light red. I had started spacing out, “Sorry... Um... What was that again?”

“Geez.” She rolled her eyes and held out a piece of paper, “We can’t build a raft without materials, right? Here’s what we need. Bring everything back here. No more slacking okay?”

I nodded with a hand over my heart and a grin on my lips, “You can count on me!” She giggled and waved me off.

00000

“So, Kairi’s home is out there somewhere, right?” I looked over at Kairi next to me and Riku on the other side of her leaning against the paupu tree.

“Could be. We’ll never know by staying here.” He answered. The colors of the sunset illuminated his hair to all but be a match.

“But how far could a raft take us?” I frowned at him.

“Who knows? If we have to, we’ll think of something else.” He shrugged.

“So, suppose you get to another world.” Kairi giggled, breaking the silence we had fallen into, “What would you do there?”

“Well, I... haven’t really thought about it. It’s just...” He looked longingly out to the water, “I’ve always wondered why we’re here on this island. If there are any other worlds out there, why did we end up on this one? And suppose there are other worlds... Then ours is just a little piece of something much greater. So, we could have just have easily ended up somewhere else, right?”

I shrugged before lying down against the trunk, “I don’t know.”

“Exactly.” He stressed, “That’s why we need to go out there and find out. Just sitting here won’t change a thing. It’s the same old stuff-”

It was at that moment that a flash of black broke through the bright colors and went spiraling into the water a bit of ways away from where we were.

Kairi screamed, pointing in the mysterious flash’s direction, “Guys! There was someone in that!”

Riku immediately ran at the edge and dove into the water and swam further out. My stomach rose to my throat. Kairi gripped my jacket sleeve, “Sora, let’s get them to the beach! It’ll be easier!”

I managed to get Riku’s attention when he surfaced and he swam them to where we stood at the beach. Kairi and I helped him and the person out of the water. I gasped finally getting a good look at the person. It was her!

They both looked at me strangely. I coughed, avoiding their gazes. Riku leant his ear to her mouth before pressing his palms to her chest a few times which seemed to be just enough to get her to start scrambling to flip over onto her stomach and cough.

Kairi took the bottle of water I’d filled up earlier. Riku assisted the girl to a sitting position against him and took the bottle from Kairi, “Hey... Easy... It’s alright... Come on... You need to drink some...”

She coughed a few more times before accepting the drink. After the bottle was drained, everyone sat there silently, listening to her breathing that had eventually began to calm. Finally she looked up and I was right across from her, I was the first to make eye contact. She blinked once and slumped further into Riku with shut eyes passed out.

Riku blinked a few times before raising an eyebrow, “Know something we don’t, Sora?”

I shook my head, “No... I’ve never met this girl in my life. Um... Should we take her to a hospital?”

Kairi shook her head, “I-I think she’ll be fine... It looks like she was only under the water for the time it took Riku to swim to her.”

“But she passed out!” I frowned.

“Maybe she’s a bit stressed? We can just keep an eye on her. It’d take a bit to row back home anyway.” Kairi ran to her boat to grab a few things, “Here. Blanket, pillows, more water bottles, and bandages just in case. If she doesn’t wake up normally soon then we’ll take her back.”

Riku nodded and moved her up the sand further away from the water. Kairi put one of the small pillows beneath her head, “She looks our age. Who do you think she is? Where did she come from?”

“Another world.” Riku stroked a piece of wet hair from her closed eyes, “She has to tell us something... She has to...”

“Oh, Riku...” Kairi sighed, putting a hand on his shoulder. She gave me a sad expression. I shrugged weakly staring down at the mysterious girl. Who are you?


	15. Look Within Yourself

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You don't even know how much I hated making these stupid stained glass platform scenes.

-April 5, 2009-

Hazel’s POV

I giggled quietly to myself as I tiptoed out of the captain’s quarters with a whistle in my hands. I climbed up the lookout tower as carefully as I could one-handed, put the whistle to my lips and-

“RIIIIIIIIIIISE AND SHINE BOYS!” I screamed loudly between whistles, “EARLY BIRD GETS THE WORM AND ALL THAT JAZZ!” 

There was quite the ruckus as the crew members crawled out of their hiding places or were startled awake from their posts. I squealed as several guns were cocked and pointed up in my direction. I shot down further into the tower’s railing.

“You blithering idiots! You dare raise a weapon to my guest?!” I heard the angry snarl of Captain Hook as his footsteps thundered across the deck.

I heard the rustling of their retreating weapons. I peaked cautiously overtop the railing, “Is it safe now?”

“Yes, my dear. It is quite safe.” I stood up a bit more confidently.

“Well... There might be a problem with me coming down.” I grinned sheepishly, motioning to my arm still in a sling.

He gritted his teeth before ordering one of the crew members to fetch me, “Jukes! Look alive!”

He scrambled up the tower and put me on his shoulders. I grinned, “Thanks, Bill!”

When we were safely on the ground, he nodded his acknowledgement. Hook took a deep sigh, “My dear... Your arm is still recovering. Please refrain from... stupidity... while it heals...”

I saluted him with my good hand, “Aye aye, Captain!”

He smirked before heading up the stairs and to his maps sitting on the table. I leaned over the side of the ship, watching the water flowing gently.

It was only a few more moments of peace before a crowing erupted from the sky. The young boy clad in green and red feathered cap broke through the clouds, “Hook! Did ya miss me?”

Hook slammed his fists on the table, “Pan! Men! Ready the canons! And fire at will!”

The crew scrambled around me to ready the weapon and I squealed, jumping up and down, “Peter Pan!”

The boy paused in the air and glanced down with a grin, “A new pirate? And a girl!” He rolled in the air with laughter.

I pouted, “Hey! What’s that supposed to mean! Come on! I just got to Neverland yesterday!”

Peter stopped laughing and flew around, avoiding the canons, “Who are you?!”

Hook began shouting insults at him, but Peter blatantly ignored him. To my surprise, instead of waiting for a response, Peter gripped my waist and hoisted me in the air.

I screamed at the pain as he rattled my arm, “H-Hey! O-Ow... M-My arm...”

I felt him shrug as he fixed his grip around me, “So, who are you?”

“C-Can’t talk... Pain...” I whimpered as he flew around the ship.

“Cease fire!” I heard Hook shout. Peter paused us in mid air, curious, “You unhand her at once!”

Peter grinned, “Why don’t you make me, codfish?!”

“Why you insufferable-” Hook paused before a wide smirk overtook his lips, “Why, Pan... Stealing an innocent young girl... What a very... adult... thing to do...”

I could all but hear Peter’s frown behind me, “It is not! I’m rescuing her from you! You kidnapped her first!”

“P-Peter please!” I could feel the pained tears in my eyes. The height and angle he was holding me was not good for my arm.

Peter retreated into his thoughts far enough that he failed to see the ropes that were being thrown in our direction. I felt myself slip from his grasp as he shot higher into the air.

I screamed as I was shot heavily through the water. I gasped, panicked as I attempted to swim with one hand towards the surface. Black crept across my vision slowly, overtaking my senses immediately.

00000

Gasping for much needed air, I clawed the air subconsciously. When my eyes finally opened, I sat up quickly and took note of my surroundings. I was obviously not in Neverland anymore.

I resided in a black abyss atop what looked like a stained glass platform. I slowly got to my feet and stepped back to get a better look at the image.

There was a girl on the front with closed eyes and her arms resting away from her sides. Her golden brown hair flowed down to her waist. She wore a tank top v-dip dress of black, navy, and dark violet polka dots on the front to shorts with the back of yellow, pink, orange, and white polka dots on the back to a skirt cape like fabric past the shorts to her calves.

The girl resided on a the platform covered in what looked like alternating colors of black and white, with a third inner layer of grey. The platform contained smaller circles alternating what looked like a spork, a chocolate bar, a knife, a strawberry, a fork, a chicken leg, a spoon, a potato chip, a whisk, a taco, a pair of tongs, an ice cream cone, a spatula, a tomato, a pastry brush, an egg, a thermometer, a fish, a rolling pin, and a peanut. The entire platform’s background looked to be of cookie dough with everything looked to be sprinkled with what looked like powdered sugar.

“Do not be alarmed, Princess.” I jumped at the sound of a familiar female’s voice, but I couldn’t quite place it, “All will be well.”

“W-What’s going on? And where are the others? And why does this chick look like me? Is it me? I’m pretty sure that’s me.” I asked nervously into the darkness.

“You will find the answers to your questions soon.” Three short pillars rose from the ground at different edges of the platform with floating weapons. One with a sword, another with a shield, and the third with a staff.

“No way!” I screamed.

The voice chuckled, “Yes, this does seem quite familiar doesn’t it. You know what you must do.”

I couldn’t run to the staff fast enough. It disappeared not even a second later, “Now what will you give up in exchange?”

I hurried over to the sword, whining when it disappeared as well, “You’ve chosen the power of the mystic. You’ve given up the power of the warrior. Is this the form you chose?”

I grinned widely, “Yes yes yes!”

The grin faded as I heard shattering. I glanced down slowly as the glass shards of the platform began floating away. I screamed silently as I floated down through the abyss.

When I felt myself gently touch solid ground once more, I observed that I was on another platform. This was of a dark ocean surrounded by a lavender ring, and a dark violet ring outside of the light one. On the inside were seven circles. The top contained a human-dog like figure in a hat on a bright yellow background. Next was of a young female with dark forest brown hair to her chin with eyes the color of snow on a silver background. Next was a young female with long black hair, her eyes as black as night, on a dark, almost black, background. Next was of a white duck in blue clothing on a bright orange background, next was of a girl with long golden brown hair, her left eye black, the right eye white, on a snow white background. The sixth contained a girl with chestnut hair to her shoulders, her eyes glowing a golden yellow, atop a blood red background. The middle circle contained a familiar boy in red with chocolate spikes.

Shadows began seeping up from the floor, eyes glowing a golden yellow. I gulped, “First chicks that look like the gang, now Heartless? Will it never end?”

A light floated down in front of me. I shielded my eyes for a moment until in its wake was a fairly sized black book with white trim. In white calligraphy on the cover read, Half-Princess Of Heart.

It floated in the air before slowly opening to a random page in the middle. But the pages were blank. I frowned, eyeing the moving shadows nervously, “As you grow and learn, so will the book. Look within yourself and you’ll be fine.”

I attempted shouting spells, concentrating, everything I could think of, but in the end, nothing happened. The shadows pounced. My screams faded as blackness overtook my senses once more.


	16. Following Familiarity

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Seriously these platform scenes will be the death of me.

-April 6, 2009-

Elena’s POV

Aladdin struggled and strained against his wrist bindings to no avail. I sighed, rolling my eyes, not attempting myself, “Aladdin. Aladdin. Aladdin, it’s no use. Don’t bother.”

He paused in his movements, glaring in my direction, “What you’re just giving up?”

I grit my teeth, “No, I just- Wait a minute okay? Just trust me.”

No sooner had I finished speaking that a squawking came from above us. Aladdin grinned widely, “Abu!”

I cleared my throat deliberately, “Something you wanna say to me?”

Abu fiddled with the mechanics of the Aladdin’s bindings before it opened. Aladdin rubbed his wrists, “Yeah yeah. I’m sorry okay? I’m a fool.”

I opened my mouth to speak as Abu undid my wrist bindings as well as the ankle one connecting us. An old man’s voice echoed from the furthest shadows of the dungeon, “Only a fool if you give up boy...”

Aladdin got to his feet with a cautious frown, “Who are you?”

Stepping out of the darkness, an old man with long greying hair wearing a ratty and dirty grey tunic tapped his wooden cane against the ground, “A lowly prisoner like yourselves.” The man grinned a wide smirk with rotten teeth, rubbing his fingers together in front of him, “But together perhaps we can be more...”

Aladdin eyed the man warily, “I’m listening...”

The man’s smirk grew wider, revealing further his rotting teeth, and a tooth glowing golden more than the rest at the front, “There is a cave, children. A cave of wonders. Filled with treasures beyond your wildest dreams. Treasure enough to impress even... Your princess, I’d wager.”

My eyes narrowed as the man turned his back for a moment. Aladdin’s eyes widened, a small gasp escaping his lips, “H-How did you know...?”

The old man faced us once more. He glanced at me and smirked. Cold and bitter rather than one from a crazy innocent old man, “Everyone has their secrets, my boy...” I swallowed thickly under his gaze, stepping back.

Aladdin’s eyes narrowed at the man, “Why are you telling us this?”

“I need someone with a strong back and a pure heart to go in after it.” The man walked further past us. I backed up further into the wall behind Aladdin to avoid him as much as physically possible.

Aladdin frowned, “Just one problem. It’s out there. But we’re stuck in here.”

The old man hummed, “Things aren’t always what they seem...” He poked the wall with his cane, revealing a small opening to a set of stairs cast in a red glow.

Aladdin walked closer to him in wonder. The man held out a hand, “So, do we have a deal?”

Aladdin nodded curtly once. I hurried to crawl through the opening, avoiding any contact at all costs with the old man. I heard Aladdin following behind. When we emerged from the staircase, we found ourselves deep into the desert mounds. A horse waited a few feet from the stone steps. Aladdin assisted the man onto the horse and we were guided into the night to a large dark tiger head, glowing eyes, and its mouth slightly ajar enough to reveal a staircase.

“Who disturbs my slumber?” The cave roared. I jumped. I couldn’t recall it ever being that loud.

Aladdin cleared his throat, “W-We are Aladdin and Elena.”

“Proceed. Touch nothing but the lamp.” The cave demanded before opening its jaws as wide as possible to reveal the staircase more prominently.

The old grinned, his broken and gold teeth revealed, “Remember, children: first fetch me the lamp, and then you shall have your reward.”

Abu shivered, quickly climbing through Aladdin’s vest and clinging to his back, “C’mon guys.”

I observed the shifting of the tiger’s glowing eyes shifting to my person. A sharp pain ran through my spine. It left me in shivers before it disappeared as if it never occurred. I brushed it off mentally, putting the thought away for later, and hurried to follow Aladdin down the stairs. When we reached the bottom, we entered through a tall golden arch to a chamber filled with vast amounts of treasure.

“Would you look at that!” Aladdin breathed out, walking ahead of me. Abu, who had climbed down with stars in his eyes, squawked quietly in awe. Aladdin smiled, “Just a handful of this stuff would make me richer than the sultan!”

Abu perked up and began bolting in the opposite direction we were heading. I screamed his name. He stopped mid run, hovering over a rug, “Don’t touch anything remember? We gotta find the lamp.”

Abu grumbled and followed closely behind us. I stopped, letting Abu, although glancing at me curiously, continued after Aladdin. I faced the carpet that seemed closer and was lying innocently on the ground. I smiled slowly, “It’s okay... Come on... I’m not gonna hurt you... I know you’re a magic carpet... Okay?”

The carpet slowly lifted its front tassles twitching nervously a few times before it hovered over. It twirled around me. I smiled, a strange feeling settling in my stomach. It ran its tassles through my hair before swirling around me excitedly and stopping in front of me.

I giggled, before calling over my shoulder, “Hey, Aladdin! I think I found someone who can help us!”

The carpet hid behind me as Aladdin and Abu approached. I coaxed it into a state of calm once more before inquiring about the lamp. The carpet motioned for us to follow him. We soon emerged from a long cave into a vast underground cavern. At the centre of the room sat a tall pillar, a staircase heading up, surrounded by water with unevenly placed stones forming a bridge. At the top of the pillar was a clichédly placed beam of light.

Aladdin set Abu down, “Wait here!” I began to follow him until he held up his hand, “You too. I can go grab it.”

I frowned, eyes narrowing before sighing and nodding. Abu grumbled before his eye, as well as mine, caught a shrine in the corner of a golden monkey. Its outstretched paws held a large gleaming ruby. Abu all but hovered over to it. I whistled innocently, stepping onto one of the panicked carpet’s corners before he could stop Abu. The small monkey grasped the gem and the room began to shake violently. Aladdin screamed his name.

“Infidels!” The cave’s voice echoed.

Abu grit his teeth with a wince, “Uh oh!”

“You have touched the forbidden treasure!” Abu placed the jewel back onto the paws only to have it began melting with the golden monkey shrine, “Now you will never again see the light of day!”

Aladdin attempted to race down the steps but they flattened into a ramp. My heart stopped as fell towards the water that had boiled into lava. I was swept off my feet as the carpet slipped from beneath my foot and under them. We went soaring down catching him. Aladdin grasped Abu as we passed him. It was then that the carpet was forced to spin too quickly for me to hang on. I screamed as I spun towards the lava. Darkness took over before I hit the surface.

00000

I gasped abruptly, sucking in as much oxygen as I could. When I was able to fully open my eyes, I observed my surroundings. Not Agrabah. Not home either.

I resided in a black abyss atop what looked like a stained glass platform. I slowly got to my feet and stepped back to get a better look at the image.

There was a girl facing the front with a neutral expression on her face, her eyes black as the abyss surrounding. She had jet black hair to her upper back, her bangs just above the dark eyes. She wore a thigh high black off shoulder v-dipped dress with long sleeves that ran down to hug the middle knuckle, covered in navy and violet sparkles.

The girl resided on a platform with the outer layer of black, the middle layer of navy, and the third layer of violet. The platform contained smaller circles of maroon alternating with what looked like a pencil, an eraser, a sharpener, a mechanical pencil, a pen, a bottle of white out, a quill, a bottle of ink, pieces of lead, a highlighter, a pencil case, a hole puncher, a pad of sticky notes, a book, a red notebook, an orange notebook, a yellow notebook, a green notebook, a blue notebook, and a purple notebook. The entire platform’s background looked to be of words written in calligraphy style.

“Do not be alarmed, Princess.” My eyes widened at the sound a familiar female’s voice, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t place it, “All will be well.”

“Who are you? And what’s going on? Where are my friends?” I demanded, searching the darkness for the voice’s source.

“Your questions will be answered soon.” Three short pillars rose from the ground at different edges of the platform with floating weapons. One with a sword, another with a shield, and the third with a staff.

I groaned, “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

The voice chuckled, “It seems quite familiar. You know what you must do.”

Reluctantly, I walked over to the sword. It disappeared not even a second later, “Now what will you give up in exchange?”

I made my way over to the shield, sighing when it disappeared as well, “You’ve chosen the power of the warrior. You’ve given up the power of the guardian. Is this the form you choose?”

I nodded, “Now can I have an answer?”

The answer was not what I wanted. The sound of shattering. I glanced down slowly as the glass shards of the platform began floating away. I screamed silently as I floated down through the abyss.

When I felt myself gently touch solid ground once more, I observed that I was on another platform. This was of a dark ocean blue surrounded by a lavender ring, and a dark violet ring outside of the light one. On the inside were seven circles. The top contained a human-dog like figure in a hat on a bright yellow background. Next was of a young female with dark forest brown hair to her chin with eyes the color of snow on a silver background. Next was a young female with long black hair, her eyes as black as night, on a dark, almost black, background. Next was of a white duck in blue clothing on a bright orange background, next was of a girl with long golden brown hair, her left eye black, the right eye white, on a snow white background. The sixth contained a girl with chestnut hair to her shoulders, her eyes glowing a golden yellow, atop a blood red background. The middle circle contained a familiar boy in red with chocolate spikes.

Shadows began seeping up from the floor, eyes glowing a golden yellow. My eyes widened considerably, “You’ve gotta be fucking kidding me.”

A light floated down in front of me. I shielded my eyes for a moment until in its wake were two fairly sized silver swords, each handle black. I almost missed the dark calligraphy engraved into each hilt, Anti-Princess Of Heart.

They floated in the air for moment before I grabbed each with shaking hands. I frowned, eyeing the moving shadows nervously, “As you grow and learn, so will your abilities. Look within yourself and you’ll be fine.”

I attempted to defend myself but it was if they were going through the shadows without touching them. They were invincible. The shadows pounced. My screams faded as blackness overtook my senses once more.


	17. Rebelling Caution

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> These platform scenes URGH.

-April 7, 2009-

Sylvia’s POV

I grinned sheepishly up at a less-than ecstatic Leon, upside down over the edge of the single bed in the middle of the hotel room.

“You mean to tell me... this is her daughter?” The brunette glared with crossed arms at the blond man next to him.

“She said her name was Evans.” The blond grunted, putting his hands on his hips, “I don’t know what this brat thinks is goin’ on but it’s sure not pleasant.”

I pouted, “Hey! I have ears you know, gramps!”

His eyes narrowed and he growled, “It’s Cid you little brat!”

I smirked, my voice mocking, “And it’s Sylvia not brat.”

Yuffie snickered, “I like her! She’s got spunk!”

I sat up and rolled over onto my stomach, “Come on, Squall~ I’m not so bad once you get used to me~”

Said man’s eye began twitching, “Don’t call me that. It’s Leon.”

I flicked my wrist as if to physically brush away his words, “Whatever you say. So what’s the deal with my mother then?”

Leon frowned, “...You don’t know?”

My expression mirrored his, “Am I supposed to? Mom never told me anything especially after dad left.”

His frown deepened, a heavy air dispersing the room for several moments. Finally he spoke, “Lift up your shirt.”

I blinked once. Twice before raising an eyebrow, “Well, well? A little early wouldn’t you say? Not gonna buy me dinner first?”

Cid doubled over, his face blue. Yuffie abruptly fell to the floor, screeching on her stomach and pounding her fists. Leon’s cheeks began to glow a very light pink, “Not like that idiot!” He stopped and composed himself, “If you are who you say you are, the proof should be on your stomach.”

The symbols! I gasped out loud, immediately lifting my shirt up, probably more than I should have, but I didn’t have the energy to care. Staring back was an odd white tree and cross-like symbol. My eyes widened considerably before I squealed in shock, smacking the hand away that had brushed against my stomach.

Yuffie was snickering, “Seriously, Squall? You’re not helping your case.”

Leon rolled his eyes, rubbing his hand, “I was confirming. I apologize for not asking permission, Ms. Evans.”

My eyebrows shot up to my hairline almost immediately, “Ms. Evans? What the fuck? No no no. Not gonna happen. Sylvia. And Sylvia only.”

“...Right.” He sighed, “...Sylvia. Now, we need to discuss-” It was at that moment that the room began shaking, followed by a loud echoing roar.

Leon grabbed a large sword with a gun attached from beside the door, “Cid, Yuffie, we need to move.”

My eyes brightened at the thought of some action and I stood up from the bed. He immediately put his hand up, “No, you’re staying put. Do not leave this room until we come back. Do you understand me?”

“What?! No! Come on! I want some action!” I whined loudly, “Leeeeoooooon!”

He growled, “No. You are staying here until we’re back.”

I protested a few more times before I finally sat back down on the bed with crossed arms, huffing loudly. The three others ran out, weapons in hand, slamming the door behind them.

I strained my ears until I was sure that their footsteps had faded completely. Hopping to my feet, I opened the window with little difficulty and climbed out. I scaled the side of the building until I reached the ground. I tore down the pavement to the door I knew led back to the second district. I tiptoed through the shadows, avoiding the three I was evading. I bolted around a corner of buildings down where I knew led to the third district. I crept through the shadows warily.

Why hadn’t I run into any Heartless yet? Frowning, I pushed through the door to the first district. Something caught my eye. Slightly hidden by the darkness, beside the cafe, was a door. I ran across the square, twirling around moogles and teenagers. Without a glance behind me, I went through.

I didn’t recognize any of this. Where was I? I walked along the walls, taking in the surroundings. Tall unrecognizable buildings, unfamiliar decorations on the concrete. It was a maze of street. I’m pretty sure I went in circles a few times before I managed to find a different door. When I emerged from said door, I came to a large open square. In the middle was a gigantic fountain structure.

I ran closer to the golden structure, “What the fuck is this?” Upon further inspection, I noticed a small plaque on one of the pillars of the fountain walls, ‘Fourth District’. 

My jaw dropped. There was a fourth district?! I circled the fountain several times, the shock not wearing down at any rate. On the other side of the fountain was another door.

On the other side of the door were two sets of stairs leading down on either side of an alcove at the back of a building. I played eenie meenie minie mo to decide which side to go down. I hoped up onto the railing on the left, sliding down quite quickly. I cheered loudly, the wind rushing through my hair. I misjudged the distance between the ending and the ground and I went spiraling down another set of stairs.

Whimpering quietly, I lifted my sore body from the concrete. That’s when I heard an echoing whooshing sound. Several balls of darkness materialised and disappeared with black bug like creatures with glowing eyes in their wake.

I grinned almost immediately. Finally! Some action! I looked around for a weapon. A broken wood panel lay atop of a pile of barrels. I snatched it and readied myself.

The Heartless were relentless. Attack after attack after attack. Panting, I backed up, only to end up tripping on one of the bottom stairs. The shadows pounced. I felt my head smack into the railing. Darkness overrode my senses.

00000

I gained consciousness by the intense need to cough and inhale whatever air I could. When I had calmed down immensely, I took note of my surroundings.

I resided in a black abyss atop what looked like a stained glass platform. The Station of Awakening then. I stumbled to my feet and stepped back to get a better look at the image.

There was a girl sitting with her legs curled down and out with a neutral expression, her eyes white as snow. She had short forest brown hair to her chin. She wore a white silver tinted dress with off shoulder straps that ended at mid thigh on the right side, dropping down diagonally towards the left calf. A black cross of fabric wrapped around her stomach.

The girl resided on a platform with the outer layer of grey, the middle layer of silver, and the third layer of white. The platform contained smaller circles of silver alternating with what looked like an iPod, an eighth note, a pair of headphones, a bar note, a CD, a quarter note, a stereo, a treble clef, a guitar, a bass clef, a guitar pick, a sharp symbol, a violin, a flat symbol, a drum, a rest symbol, a set of drumsticks, a whole note, a piano, and a pause symbol. The entire platform’s background looked to be of sheet music.

“Do not be alarmed, Princess.” I spun around in several circles until I fell to ass to look for the familiar voice, but to no avail it, “All will be well.”

“What the fuck is going on? And who the fuck are you?” I demanded, searching the darkness for the voice’s source, “And where the fuck are my friends?”

“Your questions will be answered soon. Appropriate language would be beneficial.” Three short pillars rose from the ground at different edges of the platform with floating weapons. One with a sword, another with a shield, and the third with a staff.

I blinked, “You’re fucking with me.”

The voice sighed deeply, “This scene looks familiar does it not? You know what to do.”

I stumbled over my feet in my rush to grasp the shield. I protested loudly when it disappeared, “Now what will you give up in exchange?”

The voice hadn’t even finished speaking when I dove for the sword across the platform. It too disappeared, “You’ve chosen the power of the guardian. You’ve given up the power of the warrior. Is this the form you choose?”

“Will you answer me if I say yes?” I looked around the darkness once more.

The sound of shattering reached my ears. Slowly, my gaze lowered as the glass shards of the platform began floating away. I screeched as I floated down through the abyss.

When I felt myself gently touch solid ground once more, I observed that I was on another platform. This was of a dark ocean blue surrounded by a lavender ring, and a dark violet ring outside of the light one. On the inside were seven circles. The top contained a human-dog like figure in a hat on a bright yellow background. Next was of a young female with dark forest brown hair to her chin with eyes the color of snow on a silver background. Next was a young female with long black hair, her eyes as black as night, on a dark, almost black, background. Next was of a white duck in blue clothing on a bright orange background, next was of a girl with long golden brown hair, her left eye black, the right eye white, on a snow white background. The sixth contained a girl with chestnut hair to her shoulders, her eyes glowing a golden yellow, atop a blood red background. The middle circle contained a familiar boy in red with chocolate spikes.

Shadows began seeping up from the floor, eyes glowing a golden yellow. I grinned widely, “Sweet! Where’s my weapon? I’m ready to kick some ass!”

A light floated down in front of me. I blinked, ignoring the blinding brightness until in its wake was a long silver staff with the Nobody insignia at the top and an oversized shimmering grey spike at the bottom, engraved just below the symbol in white, read Darkness Maiden.

I grasped it with two hands before smirking at the Heartless, “As you gain the experience, your powers will grow.”

I just grinned to the darkness and ran at the shadows. But no matter what spell I thought of, concentrated on, shouted, or whatever I could think of to make it work, I was unsuccessful. Even when I had resorted to smacking the Heartless like a mallet, they were untouchable. 

The shadows pounced once more. My screams faded as blackness overtook my senses once more.


	18. Destiny Islands

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is one of the longer chapters. I should have split it in two but I forgot to. And now I'm not going to bother. It is all relevant, it's just longer. Reading 2 chapters in one basically.

-April 8, 2009-

Kassy’s POV

Darkness.

“Hey, no fair! That was a cheap shot!” I heard a boy’s voice through the abyss.

“It’s your fault for being in the line of fire.” Another boy’s teasing voice broke through.

“Ha! See you at the finish line, boys! I win!” A girl’s shout pierced through and I gasped through the light to consciousness.

“Oh!” The girl rushed closer, “Guys she’s awake!”

I groaned quietly at the piercing light from overhead. She ordered over her shoulder to shut off the lights. When the room dimmed considerably I carefully opened my eyes. A short redhead smiled, sitting beside me, “Are you feeling better? Your clothes were soaked so I gave you some of my stuff. Don’t worry it was only me who changed you. The boys were locked away until I was done. Would you like some water?”

I swallowed thickly, nodding from the slight soreness. A glass was held to my lips and a hand gently cradling my head to assist. After the glass was empty, I looked around the room.

I was sitting on a fairly sized brown sofa in the middle of a living room with a fireplace mantle, scattered pictures on top and hanging on the walls and a TV on the other room with some kind of video game on pause.

The redhead’s smile never wavered, “What’s your name?”

I glanced at her, then at the boy with chocolate spikes, and finally at the boy with silver hair to his shoulder, “...Kasandra...”

“I’m-” I cut her off with a small shy smile, “Kairi. And you’re Sora and Riku.”

It was no surprise that each of their jaws dropped, eyes widening. The silverette composed himself the quickest, “Who are you? And why do you know us?”

I swallowed, “Um... I-It’s a really long story... I-I’m sorry... Where am I? I-I know... t-the island... B-But...”

“My house!” The brunette grinned widely after finally picking up his jaw from the floor, “We would have woken you up earlier, but you were mumbling like you were just talking in your sleep so we left you alone.”

I used the couch to claw to a sitting position, “What happened? M-My friends...” I could feel tears burning behind my eyelids. I squeezed them shut, clutching my hands together.

“Hey, hey... It’s going to be alright...” Riku put his hand on mine. I looked up through blurred vision, “Tell us what happened.”

Kairi nodded, “Maybe we can help!”

I took a shaky breath before stuttering out my answer, “My friends and I had these strange dreams a few days ago... And then... One by one... Everyone’s in the hospital... Oh god... Sylvia... Hazel... Elena...”

“We’ll help you!” Sora shouted almost immediately, “We have a raft we’re building! Come with us and we’ll find them somehow! I promise!”

I giggled weakly through hiccups, “T-Thank you...”

Kairi’s smile grew, “It’ll be great to have another girl! I won’t be stuck with two boys!”

My eyebrows furrowed, remembering a specific quote of hers that had her wishing for only two. I grinned weakly. Maybe she changed her mind, “Thank you...”

I tuned back into the warmth on my hand. Riku hadn’t removed his, “Where are you from?”

I bit my lip, “Um... I’m from...” I paused. Should I be indulging this information? “I’m from faraway... Earth.”

All three pairs of eyebrows furrowed in collective confusion. Kairi tilted her head, “What’s it like?”

“It’s big... Actually that’s the name of the whole world. I lived on a smaller part. An island as well.” I brushed a hair behind my ear, looking down at our hands. I thought of my home, tears burned behind my eyelids. I blinked them away, swallowing thickly.

“A new world! I knew they were out there!” Sora crowed cheerfully. I closed my eyes and gave him a tight smile.

“Hey... Let’s talk about it tomorrow. I’m sure you’re tired.” Riku cut in, squeezing my hand gently.

“Yeah!” Kairi said cheerfully, but eyed me in a concerned manner.

Sora nodded, “Everyone was already sleeping over tonight anyway so it’s fine for you to stay on the couch.”

The boys both bid their goodnights and disappeared around the corner and up a set of stairs according to the sounds of their footsteps. Kairi stood up with a goodnight. I bit my lip and stopped her, “W-Wait... K-Kairi... C-Can you... Can you stay in here with me...?”

Her expression was a bit surprised but she quickly composed herself and nodded with a smile, “Let me just go grab my sleeping bag and stuff!”

00000

I awoke to the feeling of insistent shaking. Yawning I sat up quickly, rubbing my eyes, “Syvy... Whassa maner...? Whas wron...?”

When my vision cleared up and yesterday’s events came crashing back, I jumped, “K-Kairi?”

Her eyes were glazed over, almost as if she were hypnotised. She tugged on my wrist without a word. I stumbled off the sofa, trapped in the blanket. I untangled myself and whimpered, “K-Kairi, what’s wrong?”

She remained silent. She stared at me for a few moments and slowly stepped to the front door and out. My eyes widened. I scrambled after her, stumbling over my unused legs. I followed her, shivering in the stormy night air. We walked down the street until we came to the shoreline.

 

I swallowed thickly, eyeing the rickety dock, “K-Kairi... W-Wait a second... I-I don’t-” Without a word, she gripped my wrist, tugging me onto the wood and into a small rowboat. I gasped, clinging to the sides of the boat, squeezing my eyes shut. I opened them only when I felt the boat bump against a solid surface. Kairi tugged on my wrist, helping me onto the dock. We scaled around the large tree before she stopped. Slowly she spun to face me.

I stepped back, nervously eyeing her raised hand. She pounced on me before I could determine what she was planning. With her hand to my head, I slumped forward, darkness overtaking. Before I lost consciousness completely, I noted she was running towards a small opening in the rocks between the waterfall and large tree, an elaborate silver door materialising behind her.

I awoke to rough shaking accompanied by a worried boy’s voice, “Kasandra! Kasandra, what happened?!”

I groaned, rubbing my head, letting Sora help me to a sitting position. I pointed in the direction of the opening in the rocks, “S-She went in there...”

“Who? Kairi?” He frowned, “Are you going to be okay?”

I nodded weakly, “I’ll be fine... Go after her... Just give me a minute...”

He hesitated for a few moments before nodding and running towards said direction. After a few moments, I wavered on my feet, a hand on my head with a groan. I walked further along the pathway and stopped, waiting for Sora. It was only a few moments later that the doors flew open, sending Sora flying rapidly in my direction.

He landed on top of me, both of us tumbling over both edges and down on to the beach. I groaned weakly as he scrambled off, “Kasandra! I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to!”

“I’m fine, Sora...” I accepted his hand to help me. He all but dragged me to my feet without any effort at all.

“Hey... Isn’t that...?” Sora frowned, staring over my shoulder.

I looked behind me with wide eyes, “Riku!” I tore through the shack and across the wooden bridge, the brunette hot on my heels.

The two of us stopped a few feet from the silverette. Sora frowned, “Where’s Kairi? I thought she was with you!”

Riku was looking up at the stormy sky, his back to us, “The door... has opened...”

The brunette’s frown deepened with his confusion, “What?”

“The door has opened, Sora! Now we can go to the outside world.” Riku turned around, a determined glint in his eye.

I bit my lip for a short hesitation before speaking to the brunette beside me, “Sora, y-you should go with him...”

Sora’s gaze narrowed on my person, “What are you talking about? We gotta find Kairi!”

“Kairi’s coming with us! Once we step through, we might not be able to come back. We may never see our parents again. There’s no turning back. But this may be our only chance. We can’t let fear stop us! I’m not afraid of the darkness!”

“You must embrace the darkness...” I breathed out. I quickly put my hands over my mouth. Where did that come from?

Riku stared at me silently. Emotionlessly. Sora looked too shocked for words. Finally the brunette whispered our names.

Swallowing thickly, I stared at Riku’s outstretched hand. I reached for him hesitantly. He took a hold of my hand, pulling me closer, and wrapped an arm around me, pressing me against him tightly. He held out the other hand for Sora.

“Please, Sora...” Those were the last words I heard before blacking out.

00000

When I slowly gained consciousness, I weakly clawed at the floor beneath me. It took slight difficulty to pry my eyes open fully. I looked around.

Endless darkness surrounding the stained glass platform I resided on. The Station of Awakening? I slowly back up to get the full image.

There was a girl sitting with her legs bent slightly, looking off to the left with a neutral expression, her eyes a glowing golden yellow. She had chestnut hair to her shoulders. She wore an ankle blood red halter dress with black slits around the bottom to her thighs and a golden yellow metal ring attached around her neck, as it flared around her like water.

The girl resided on a platform with the outer layer of black, the middle layer of blood red, and the third layer of black. The platform contained smaller circles of blood red alternating what looked like a paint brush, paint, clay, a clay knife, a pair of scissors, a pencil, an eraser, a sharpener, a sketchbook, a pen, a tissue, a red colored pencil, an orange colored pencil, a yellow colored pencil, a light green colored pencil, a dark green colored pencil, a light blue colored pencil, a dark blue colored pencil, a light purple colored pencil, and a dark purple colored pencil. The entire platform’s background looked to be of rainbow paint splatters.

“Don’t be alarmed, Princess.” I gasped, falling to the floor. I looked around in search of the familiar voice, “All will be well.”

“W-Who’s there? I-I know who you are but I-I can’t remember... W-What’s happening?” I whimpered, “Where are my friends?”

“Do not worry. Your questions will be answered soon enough.” Three short pillars rose from the ground at different edges of the platform with floating weapons. One with a sword, another with a shield, and the third with a staff.

My eyes widened, “Oh my god... T-This is actually happening...”

“It is.” The voice answered solemnly, “You know what you must do.”

I rushed clumsily and gripped the sword. My lip curled into a pout when it disappeared, “Now what will you give up in exchange?”

I walked a bit more leisurely and grasped the staff. I sighed sadly when it disappeared as well, “You’ve chosen the power of the warrior. You’ve given up the power of the mystic. Is this the form you choose?”

A grin spread across my lips, “Yes!”

I was hoping for different answers. But unfortunately, the only answer I received was the sound of shattering. I slowly glanced down as the glass shards of the platform began floating away. Fear clutched my heart like a vice. My screams caught in my throat.

It was quite awhile before I had calmed down enough to open my eyes. When they were open, I observed my surroundings. Another platform. This was a of a dark ocean blue surrounded by a lavender ring, and a dark violet ring outside of the light one. On the inside were seven circles. The top contained a human-dog like figure in a hat on a bright yellow background. Next was of a young female with dark forest brown hair to her chin with eyes the color of snow on a silver background. Next was a young female with long black hair, her eyes as black as night, on a dark, almost black, background. Next was of a white duck in blue clothing on a bright orange background, next was of a girl with long golden brown hair, her left eye black, the right eye white, on a snow white background. The sixth contained a girl with chestnut hair to her shoulders, her eyes glowing a golden yellow, atop a blood red background. The middle circle contained a familiar boy in red with chocolate spikes.

I gasped as shadows began seeping up from the floor, eyes glowing a golden yellow, “H-Heartless...”

A light floated down in front of me. I shielded my eyes from the blinding brightness. When it had dimmed, I lowered my arms to see two small silver hand guns with black patches on the handles. Hidden on each, in blood red calligraphy, read, Heartless Maiden.

I grasped them each with a finger on each trigger, “Your powers will grow the more you do in turn.”

I breathed out my disbelief, watching the shadows almost dance in place. Their antennas twitched. I swallowed before aiming and shooting at one. The bullet shot a hole through the shadow’s stomach. Each of their eyes fell on the holed one until the hole all but crawled together until it looked like it had never been there at all. The shadows switched their gaze back to me. They pounced. No matter how much I shot at them, they were untouchable.

They pounced once more. My screams faded as blackness overtook my senses.


	19. You Don't Understand

-April 9, 2009-

Sylvia’s POV

The first sight I had the pleasure of receiving when I regained consciousness was a familiar platinum blond male, his vibrant green eyes not as kind as I remember them, and with a hardened concern down at my person on the hotel bed.

I grinned weakly, “Didn’t think it through. Don’t lecture me.”

“The Heartless are relentless. I would have hoped you knew that. What were you thinking going out there without a weapon? You could have been killed!” He all but snarled.

I recoiled slightly away from him with a frown, “I’m sorry okay? I said don’t fucking lecture me. Things have... changed, you know? So, cut me some fucking slack.”

He sighed, “Yes, alright. You just need to be careful alright? You’re lucky we found you in time.”

I smirked weakly, “Gettin’ soft there, Mitch? And here I took you for Nathan’s twin.”

“...You’re really lucky we got you in time. We specifically told you not to wonder off. I don’t know who this Mitch is, but he’s more than likely lost with your world.” I blinked several times before in said boy’s place was the rigid brunette with a scar across his nose.

I could feel tears burning the back of my eyelids. I clenched my fist, “You don’t fucking know that, Squall.”

His eyes narrowed, “I told you it’s Leon.”

I scrambled off the bed in the hotel, jabbing my finger in his chest, “Do I look like I give a shit? You don’t fucking know anything! Our world wasn’t fucking destroyed, so fuck you! I know its fine. So, read my lips. You don’t know anything about my story and that includes what I know about my world and whatever the fuck else. Do you fucking understand?”

Leon’s hard steeled eyes glared down at me, standing his ground. I cursed my being shorter than him by a head and shoulders. He stepped back, with a slightly declined head, nodding very minimally.

I heard the two others in the room swallowing thickly in the deafening silence. I grit my teeth tightly, forcing my tears back, before forcefully pushing past him and storming out the door. I heard Cid and Leon arguing as I stormed down the hall, as well as Yuffie calling my name, but I ignored them, slamming the doors of the hotel behind me.

I barely walked three feet before shadow Heartless crept up from the ground. I felt the silver staff from the Station of Awakening appear in my hands. With narrowed eyes, tears still burning and threatening to spill, I charged through the small group, smacking the creatures on the head, pushing past the door to the First District.

I gripped the staff until my knuckles had turned white. I stomped around the corner of the Accessory shop and towards the square. I glared at several teenagers and adults who had looked up. They pointedly matched my expression before looking away. Sighing to myself, I turned on my heel and went back up the steps to head back to the Second District. I had just gotten behind the accessory shop before I heard the sound of rushing wind from further down towards the square.

That was odd... Too out of place... My eyes widened. That couldn’t be... I ran closer to the corner, and peeked around. Three figures were standing in the middle of the square. There was a tall anthropomorphic dog with black fur and droopy ears wearing an orange hat, a green turtleneck sweater rolled up and pinned by a blue strap, a dark grey pocket covered vest, and murky yellow pants rolled up and pinned by brown straps. There was also an anthropomorphic duck with white plumage, and yellow orange bill with matching legs, a short tuft of feathers on his head visible under his blue hat wearing a high collared blue three quarter sleeve shirt with pockets and zippers and a small blue shoulder vest connected by a silver fastening. There was also a golden black floppy eared dog, sniffing at the ground as the other two argued.

I lowered my head slightly and smirked. The three headed up the stairs, the anthropomorphic dog suggesting they follow the other dog down the alleyway. After the duck insulted him, they came towards my direction.

I stepped out from behind the corner and walked past them down the stairs, I watched them pass me out of the corner of my eye. The duck ignored my presence. The taller smiled kindly, adding a verbal greeting.

I smirked, tripping the duck discreetly. The duck squawked angrily, “Hey! What’s the big idea! Watch it, kid!”

I snorted, “You watch it, Donald. And hey, Goofy. What’s goin’ on?”

Both of their eyes widened considerably. Goofy composed himself quicker, “Oh! Are you a friend of the king’s then?”

I grinned, “...You could say that.”

Donald, who’d finally stood up, crossed his arms over his chest with a suspicious glare, “I don’t trust you.”

I shrugged with a smirk, “Whatever helps you sleep at night. Leon’s pretty easy to find. I’d head off if I were you. He’s probably flippin’ the fuck out after I left.”

Goofy winced after I swore. I shrugged an apology. Donald continued glaring, “...Who are you?”

“Sylvia Evans. Apparently I’m pretty important.” I smirked, “Leon’ll explain whatever shit he wanted to say. I’m gonna explore for awhile. I’ll join you guys later.”

Goofy nodded, “Okay! Be careful, Sylvia! We’ll see you later!”

Donald grumbled and stormed away without another word. I smiled and nodded, bidding him a farewell. I watched him disappear around the corner of the shop and through the second district doors before heading towards the alleyway.

I could barely contain my excitement. I stopped a few feet from the crates, blocking whom I knew would be the main protagonist, and whistled for the dog I saw sniffing.

Said canine hurried out and jumped at my knees, barking happily. I grinned, scratching his head with both hands after setting down my staff, pouting only slightly when it disappeared, “Aw... Oh well. Let’s wake up Sora, okay, Pluto?”

When I finally stepped around the crates, to my surprise, there was someone else laying against Sora.

“What the fuck? Kassy!”


	20. Together Again

-April 10, 2009-

Kassy’s POV

I began to swim towards the surface of consciousness. I kept my eyes closed from the lights filtering through my eyelids. I groaned quietly. Someone was fiddling with the bottom of my shirt.

Only one person did that blatantly without saying a word, “Sylvia? Why are you stripping me?”

I could hear four different pitches in the following collective laughter. Sylvia had a smile in her voice, “Well, you know. Squall told me to.”

“For the last time, it’s Leon. What’s it going to take for you to call me that?” Frustration filled a young male’s voice.

“You gotta admit she’s a bit stubborn, ‘eh Leon?” An older male snickered.

“I have a feeling she’s not gonna quit any time soon.” A young female gasped through her laughter.

I forced my eyes to open, turning my head slowly towards the direction of Sylvia’s voice, “S-Syvy...”

She smiled, sitting beside me, “How are you feeling?”

I reached out for her head, squeezing tightly, tears burning hotly and cascading down my cheeks, “Y-You’re here...”

She put her lips to my knuckles, “I’m here. Don’t worry.”

I hiccupped before dragging myself to a sitting position and wrapping my arms around her, burying my face into her shoulder, “W-What’s happening?!”

She trailed her fingertips up and down my back soothingly, whispering in my ear, “Adventure, my friend. I think we have landed ourselves into the realm of Kingdom Hearts.”

She pulled her head away and began humming what I recognized as the background music of the world we resided on. After a few moments I sniffled, watching as she pulled away with a grin, “So, what happened to you?!”

I frowned, looking down at my hands in my lap, “I was with Sora and... Then Kairi...” I shivered gripping the sheets tightly beneath me, “I-It was scary...”

Sylvia’s eyes narrowed, “Hm... Well, are you hurt? Did any of them hurt you? I’ll kick their ass!”

I snorted, “No, I’m fine. I just... It was weird... Very... different...” I scooted to the edge of the bed, swinging my legs to hang off. I finally met the other three figures’ gazes in the room, “This is... Wow...”

Sylvia grinned, “I know right?! It’s so great!”

“L-Leon... And Yuffie... And Cid!” I smiled widely, “Wow! This is incredible!”

Leon crossed his arms over his chest, “So, Kasandra, is it? We need to confirm something. Show us your stomach. There might be a mark there.”

I blinked twice before lifting up my shirt just enough to reveal a black and red spiked heart. I gasped standing up so fast and bumping into the side table, effectively tripping over my own feet and falling to the ground.

Sylvia snickered for a moment before cutting herself off abruptly, helping me to my feet and guiding me back onto the bed, “Hey, hey... Shh... It’s alright... You’re okay... Whoa!”

Everyone jumped at the sudden exclamation. She quickly continued, quietly to me, “You remember after you woke up from your dream at my house? The licking your lips thing? Maybe it was a sign!”

Leon stepped closer to us, “It was most likely a connection her heart was making to the power of the Heartless Maiden. We’re lucky-”

Sylvia snorted, “Heartless Maiden? That’s so elaborate.”

Yuffie bounced over and sat next to us on the bed, “I wouldn’t be talking, Ms. Darkness Maiden.”

I giggled, tears having been halted, as her jaw dropped, her face the definition of flabbergasted, “Fits you doesn’t it, Syvy?”

“Shut the fuck up.” Her bottom lip curled out into a deep pout, “And another thing! I am-”

A groaning behind us ceased the conversation, “Ow... My head...”

I turned around, sitting on my knees beside him. Yuffie stood on the other side of the bed next to him, putting a hand on his shoulder with a half-grin, “You okay?”

“More or less... What happened, Kasandra?” Yuffie scowled.

“What? No. I’m the Great Ninja Yuffie.” She bit out.

“Huh?” He shook his head and glanced around, his gaze settling on me, “Kasandra?”

I smiled unsurely, “Yeah. Hey, Sora.”

Sylvia gaped, “No fucking way!” Sora winced at the foul language. Sylvia ignored him, “This is too fucking good.”

I nudged her arm to shut her up before speaking to him, “W-We’re not on Destiny Islands anymore...”

My friend snorted, “No shit Sherlock.”

“Shut up.” I growled before shaking my head, “We’re on a different world. Riku and Kairi are on different worlds too.”

Sora frowned, looking down at his hands in his lap, “Riku... Kairi...”

I swallowed thickly, forcing the burning tears back, “They’re safe... Just... Just trust me on that...”

Sylvia nodded, her words not including an insulting remark this time, “She’s telling the truth. Don’t be blind. Trust her.”

But Sora wasn’t listening to either of us. He muttered his friends’ names, not looking up from his hands.

Tears stung my eyelids once more. I stood up shaking, “I-I’m sorry, Sora...” I pushed my way past Leon and towards the door. I knew Sylvia was hot on my trails, but not before a resounding slap filled the room.

“You fuckass.” Without another word, she pushed me gently through the door and down the hall, “Come on. We’re going back to the First District.”

We fought our way through a small collective of Heartless before we burst through the doors. I walked silently while she rattled on and on about how cool our weapons were. We stopped at the tall railing wall in front of the Accessory Shop.

She put a hand on my shoulder, “Hey, seriously, Kassy. It’s gonna be fine okay? Trust me. Things are... bigger than they seem okay?” She smiled a smile as if she knew something I didn’t. Which was in all regards true, “Hey, what was that?”

I looked in the direction she was pointing. Towards the sky above the square below, a twinkling star seemed to be falling slowly.

We ran out to the middle, staring up. The star became bigger and bigger until we could distinguish the shape of a person. Sylvia and I all but dove backwards out of the way of the target landing. We ran to the figure after the dust cloud had cleared.

“Hazel!” Sylvia and I flipped her onto her back gently, “But where’s Elena?”

Sylvia grinned and leaned down, yelling in her ear, “I stole your spork again!”

She sat up quickly, missing my head by a hairline as I pulled backwards, “NEVER AGAIN, YOU BITCH! YOU SAID NEVER AGAIN!” She paused, “S-Sylvia...? K-Kassy...?”

I wrapped my arms around her tightly. I felt her squeeze back. Sylvia joined in for a few moments before pulling away. I sat back, clutching her hands in mine, “Where’s Elena...?”

She frowned, looking around the square, “She’s not with you?”

Sylvia shook her head before hoping to her feet and holding a hand out for each of us and assisting us to our feet, “Come on. Let’s go fine her.”

I took about five steps forward before a swirling ball of darkness began growing a few feet away from us. Without warning someone soared through. I had no time to react and being in the crossfire, I fell onto my stomach with a resounding crack in my back.

“Elena!” The others pulled the weight off of me, “You okay, Kassy?”

I groaned, sitting up with difficulty, hearing my spine crack loudly and at uncomfortable angles, “Ow... I-I think you broke something...”

Sylvia poked my side causing me to squeal and curl into myself and away from the offending hand, “Nope. Just dramatic.”

I pouted deeply before being attacked once more with a collective and much welcomed group hug.


	21. A Past Meeting

-April 9, 2009-

Hazel’s POV

Sylvia protested as Kassy opened the door of the hotel, only quieting when we all stepped into the room. I squealed, speaking quickly without pause, “Leon, Yuffie, Cid, oh my god this great what’s happening what’s gonna happen can we go explore what’s the deal with everything and-”

Elena slapped a hand over my mouth, cutting off my speech. Sylvia snickered, “Did you even breathe?”

Cid smirked, “I think this-”

Yuffie screamed suddenly, pointing at the far corner, “Guys!” Darkness had begun swirling in a ball until a blue armored creature had appeared in its wake.

“Yuffie, go!” Leon ordered before grasping his long gun blade, “Everyone, let’s go!”

Yuffie ran with Cid on her heels into the next room. Sora grasped the Keyblade looking utterly lost before heading towards the door into the hallway. Sylvia dove at him, forcing him to a halt with a smirk.

“No, you’re going out the same way Leon went.” She gripped his wrist and dragged him out the balcony door. Without warning she all but threw him over the edge.

Elena and I winced at the sound of thumping, splashing, and finally a weak groan. Sylvia’s cackles echoed in the alleyway and into the room. Kassy ran, jumping over and down to help him. Elena and I crawled over the edge, dropping down more carefully. Sylvia had to show off and somersault over the edge.

Leon looked up after slicing one of the soldiers, “Don’t bother with the minor ones. Find the leader.”

With a simultaneous nod, we all headed back to the second district. Sora, Kassy, and Elena all dove into their own fights with various heartless that had appeared. I noticed Sylvia chewing on her lip with conflicted narrowed eyes as she stared at the doors that led to the First District.

I tapped her shoulder, bouncing back and forth on my toes and heels, “What’s going on, Vy-Vy? Worried about something?”

Her eyes widened before she shook her head quickly, her tone defensive, “No! Why would you ask me that? Can’t I eat my own face and not be questioned all the damn time?”

My bottom lip jutted out in a pout, “Heeeeey... I’m just trying to help!”

“I’m fine, Zelly. Really.” She rolled her eyes and wacked a heartless that had jumped in our direction, “Let’s just get to the Third District. I wanna fight already!”

I observed her for a moment before nodding, walking past the others around the staircase, and heading behind the building towards the door to the Third District.

I heard the others on my tail not long after. I increased my speed to a run on the other side of the doors, down the ramp and into the big open square. The others stopped near me and we all looked around. The screams of two people echoed before a thud sounded behind me.

Sylvia and I were all but in tears and blue in the face at the sight of Sora and Kassy beneath an anthropomorphic dog and duck. They exclaimed at the sight of Sora’s outstretched hand still grasping the Keyblade, “The Key!”

The ground began rumbling until pillars rose to block the exits at every corner. Soldier Heartless appeared in balls of darkness. Everyone scrambled out, each in their own fight. When the last Heartless fell, there was another round of shaking before a large white, blue, yellow, and red metal torso with detached metal boots dropped to the ground. Metal claw like figures floated next to the torso like arms and hands. Those of us who had been standing were sent to the ground from the force of the shockwave.

00000

A pink crystallized heart rise above the fallen Guard Armor Heartless. I nudged Elena with a grin, “Two games from now!”

She rolled her eyes, muttering, “If we make it that far...”

Sylvia flicked the side of her head, “Negativity is my thing. It doesn’t suit you.”

Elena rolled her eyes once more, “I’m not being negative. I’m being realistic.”

I grinned with a singsong tone, booping her on the nose, and lifting my legs and arms up dramatically, “I still hear negativityyy!”

All eyes focused on the sudden loud wailing from Kassy who had fallen to her knees. I immediately knew what the problem was and began giggling.

Sora took a hesitant step forward, putting a shaking hand on her shoulder, “K-Kasandra?”

A weak whimper left her lips, “T-That heartless... It... It was the wrong color!”

Elena and Sylvia joined in my laughter. The boys were completely lost. The tall dog after a moment joined in our laughter. Sora and the short duck made questioning noises.

When the laughter had teetered off, Sora held out a hand for Kassy to help her to her feet. I elbowed Sylvia and Elena with a suggestive look. It seemed that they too noticed the blatant blush on our short brunette friend’s cheeks.

The duck tapped Sora on the arm, “You’re the Keybearer we’ve been searching for!”

Sora blinked a few times before pointing to himself, “You were looking for me?”

Another male’s voice spoke before he could respond, “They too have been seeking the wielder of the Keyblade.”

The dog smiled, “Hey, why don’t you come with us? We can go to other worlds on our vessel.”

Sora looked down, sadness dripping from his voice, “I wonder if I could find Riku and Kairi...”

Sylvia snorted, “Did you not learn anything from that slap I gave you earlier for not listening and/or trusting Kassy?”

“Sora, go with them.” Leon spoke once more, “Especially if you want to find your friends. I also insist that these four accompany you. We need the Heartless and Darkness Maiden to fight.”

The duck’s eyes widened, “What?!”

The dog’s eyes widened considerably as well, “The Maidens!” He chuckled and bowed his head slightly, “It’s nice ta meet cha, your majesties!”

Elena and my jaws dropped. I pouted, “What? Why didn’t you tell us you guys were royalty?! I would have milked that for all its worth!”

Leon’s eyes narrowed, “Who are you two anyway?”

Elena frowned, “Excuse me? You could have been at least a little less rude about it. A simple ‘what are your names’ would have sufficed.”

Yuffie snickered, “You got served, Squall.”

His jaw set as he remained quiet for a moment, “...My apologies. What is your name may I ask?”

Kassy hopped up and down for a moment, “Hey, hey, wait! Are they something too?! Guys, check your stomachs!”

Without another thought, I began lifting my shirt only to have Elena slap my hand away, “Now, wait a goddamn second. Hazel, why are you taking any excuse to start stripping? That’s Evans job when she’s not even half-way sober. Kass, what’s going on?”

Sylvia rolled her eyes, “Oh come on, Janele. Can you not preach to the world about my habits? It’s getting old. And for your information, you might have some kind of mark. Some weird voodoo shit going on. What? Did you think Kassy just drew something on you while you weren’t looking? Like, fuck even I knew she wasn’t that sneaky.”

“Hey...” Kassy frowned, “That was mean.”

Sylvia flicked her wrist in the air as if to physically brush her off, “Whatever. All I’m saying is can you just listen to someone else for once?”

Elena growled before lifting her shirt to reveal a dark glowing heart of blacks, dark violets, and navies. She screamed, letting the fabric fall back down, “What the fuck was that?!”

My face brightened. I lifted my shirt as well to reveal a glowing heart. The left side made of swirling colors of yellows, oranges, pinks, whites, and silvers. The right side of blacks, dark violets, and navies. My grin widened further before I turned my attention to Leon, “What’s it mean?!”

Leon crossed his arms over his chest, “You both are Princesses of Heart. You are-”

Elena interrupted with a look of disgust, “Oh fuck no. I am not going to have my heart ri-”

Sylvia slapped a hand over her mouth, before whispering something urgently into her ear. Everyone watched with baited breath. Elena nodded after a moment and Sylvia dropped her hand.

Elena mimicked Leon’s stance, “So, what am I?”

The corners of his mouth twitched up quickly before falling as if it had never happened, “The Anti-Princess of Heart.”

She paused, “I can work with that. I expected worse. Thank god for that.”

I bounced up and down squealing, “What am I what am I what am I?!”

“The Half-Princess of Heart.” Sylvia’s cackles filled the Third District.

I pouted, “What’s so funny?”

She snickered between words, “You- Half-Princess- That’s- Fuck- Just a regular- Fuck- No point-”

My eyes narrowed, “Excuse me? It sounds plenty important!”

Kassy nodded, “Yeah, Syvy! Remember how the three of us couldn’t touch the light side?”

She stopped her laughter and nodded. All eyes watched her warily before the duck spoke up, “If you four are coming with us, we have to stay here for the night while we make a few repairs and adjustments for sleeping arrangements. We only anticipated three of us.”

Sylvia’s eyes brightened, “You’re fucking kidding! Sweet motherfucker I love this day!”

“I guess we can go...” Sora mumbled in thought.

“But you can’t come along looking like that.” The duck scolded, “Understand? No frowning. No sad face. Okay?”

“Yeah. Ya gotta look funny, like us!” The dog grinned widely.

I gripped my friends around the necks, “We don’t need to make any faces! We’re already funny looking enough!”

Sylvia snorted, her head at an awkward angle, “You’re one to talk. I’m one smoking hot piece of ass.”

I grinned, nuzzling her, “You keep thinking that!” Everyone joined into a chorus of laughter.

-Later That Night-

Hazel’s POV

Elena climbed behind me on the bed with Kassy as they assisted each other in braiding my long hair. The ravenette sighed, “Aren’t you guys a bit worried about what’s happening?”

Sylvia came out of the bathroom in only a pair of black boxers with silver roman numerals for 13.

Elena made a noise of disgust, “Why do you insist on sleeping naked with us?”

“I just can’t resist you, Janele. You’ve always been my type. Get naked with me and see what happens.” Sylvia drawled sarcastically, “And I’m not entirely naked. I’m wearing boxers.”

“Your small breasts say otherwise.” She snorted before finishing my braid.

Kassy gasped suddenly, “I don’t have my paints! And I have the perfect landscape I could paint on your chest, Syvy!”

Sylvia grinned, “You’ll think of it again I’m sure and you can paint my naked body to your heart’s content.”

None of us could properly answer for a few minutes through tear-filled giggles. When the hysterics finally calmed, Kassy was the first to yawn, letting everyone follow suit and clutch each other in the small bed for both physical and emotional comfort.

-Dream-

“B-But you guys said...” I sniffled, clutching my dress ruffles tighter.

My supposed friend snickered, “We didn’t think you’d actually do it! You’re so stupid! Come on guys, I’m hungry. See ya, freak.”

I ran down the halls of school with blurred vision until I found a secluded corner. Sliding to the ground, I wrapped my arms around my knees and cried into them.

It was moments later that I had sufficiently calmed to realize there was someone who was rubbing my back in soothing circles. A short light brunette took her hand away with wide sad eyes. Another taller dark brunette sat in front of us with a steeled look.

I wiped the last of my tears, “U-Um... Thanks... I-I’m okay now...”

The short brunette grinned, “I love your dress!”

Another wave of tears came over me, “I-It’s horrible... I want to burn it...”

The taller brunette finally spoke, “She’s a bitch. I’ve already given her a surprise in her locker.”

It was at that moment that we heard a scream from the other side of the school. I watched as my ex-friend passed by our corner completely covered head to toe in bright neon yellow paint with the foulest smelling odor accompanying her.

I bit my lip to refrain from laughing. The short brunette sighed, “Syvy... I told you just the paint... Not the bomb...”

‘Syvy’ shrugged, “When have I ever listened to you?”

I smiled, “Thank you... Syvy’s your name?”

She snorted, “Sylvia. Sylvia Evans.”

“I’m Kasandra Williston! I just call her Syvy. And call me whatever you want!” Her smile was very blinding. She looked ready to bounce up and down, “As for the dress, give me an hour and I’ll fix it! Do you have gym clothes you can wear until then?”

I nodded hesitantly before they followed me to my locker. I lead them to the bathroom before changing quickly and handing the shorter my puffy dress.

Sylvia smirked as she ran out the door and down the hall. I followed her out back to my hiding spot, “She can work some serious magic. You’ll fall in love.”

When the hour mark was up, Kasandra came running up with a purple piece of fabric in her hand, “Here! I hope you like it!”

It truly was a work of art. Gone was the clownish party dress for a six year old and in place was that of a New York fashion show model’s dress. It looked less than perfect. Anyone else would have laughed at the attempt.

She frowned, “The stitching is wrong in a lot of places and I ran out of purple thread and had to you use yellow and then ran out of that and had to use green. And then-”

I could vaguely hear her rambling but I could only stare at the dress in silent tears before I finally interrupted her, “This is... incredible... No one’s ever done something like this for me...”

Kasandra dragged Sylvia and I down the hall, chattering about everything. I jumped in almost immediately and it was then that I knew we’d be friends for a long time.

-End of Dream-


	22. Follow Me Down

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Points to anyone who figures out the different fandom reference I put in.

-April 10, 2009-

Kassy’s POV

It was quite the rude awakening that morning. Thankfully I had been swimming in and out of consciousness already when the insistent pounding came through the door.

I snuggled further into the warmth of naked breasts next to me, mumbling, “Syvy... I want pancakes with a fruit platter... Got this idea for an edible piece...”

Sylvia grumbled somewhere near my ear, slowly, “Give me five fucking minutes...”

The knocking continued more forcefully and a squawking, scratchy voice floated through the door, “We need to get going as soon as possible! Come on girls!”

Each pair of eyes on the bed snapped open at the rush of memories from the previous day.

Sylvia sat up and stretched in an almost cat-like manner, yelling towards the door, “Five minutes, Donald! That’s all I ask!”

To our surprise he slammed the door open, “That is not- GWAK!” His feathered hands smacked over his eyes. Sylvia grumbled, standing up and heading towards the clothes she’d been given by Yuffie and heading into the bathroom, “You were the one who barged in...”

Donald made a noise half-way between a groan and a whine, backing up and running down the hall. After everyone was dressed, we headed out of the room, down the hall to the Green Room. Sora and Goofy were eating cereal on the bed, Leon and Aerith and Donald were speaking next to the balcony door, and Yuffie and Cid sat at the table over a game of cards.

Donald paused in his conversation and faced us, “The repairs to the ship are done so eat up and we’ll head out.”

Sylvia grinned, “Fuck, I can’t wait.”

“You swear alot.” Sora pointed out around a mouthful of cereal and spoon.

“You swear alot.” Sylvia mocked before snatching the bowl from his hands and dumping it out the window. He protested before pouting and sitting back on the bed with crossed arms.

“Syvy, that was really mean.” I put my hand on her arm, “He hasn’t done anything to you yet.”

“Keyword is yet, my friend.” She rolled her eyes but muttered a barely distinguishable apology. Sora must have heard it as he nodded curtly once.

With full stomachs, we followed Donald and Goofy out of the hotel, through the First District and to a large wooden door. With farewells and warnings from Leon and the others, we followed Donald into the gummi ship.

3rd Person POV

In a darkened room in the castle depths of Hollow Bastion, sat a large table surrounded by a group of males and females from many different worlds.

A blue skinned man with blue flames for hair, wearing a dark grey toga, scoffed, “The Heartless never stood a chance against the seven of them!”

A man with a twisted beard, wearing a black and maroon robe pointed out, “Such is the power of the Keyblade, but the child’s strength is not his own. And neither the Maidens nor the Princesses have tapped into their full power.”

A large purple half woman, half octopus cackled vociferously, “Why don’t we turn them into Heartless? Then get the Heartless Maiden on our side! That’ll settle things quick enough.”

A tall man with long black curls to his shoulders in a red captain’s coat, growled, “And the duck and dog are the King’s lackeys. Swoggle me eyes, they’re all bilge rats by the looks of them.”

A large grey sac filled with bugs snickered, “You’re no prize yourself.”

The pirate captain’s eyes narrowed, “Shut up!”

“Enough.” A tall woman wearing a black robe and two horns atop her head, holding a long staff with a green orb, appeared, “The Keyblade has chosen him. Will it be he who conquers the darkness? Or will the darkness swallow him? Either way... He could be quite useful. As for the Heartless Maiden... She will be with us soon. It is inevitable. After all...” She trailed off in laugher, the others soon joining in.

Kassy’s POV

To our utter disappointment, Donald wouldn’t let us explore the ship for more than a couple of minutes. He soon forced each of us into a belted chair. My eye twitched. The color schemes were off as four of the chairs I realized were the recently added.

I whimpered, tugging Sylvia’s arm on my way to a chair, “This is gonna be torture...”

She snorted and jumped onto a chair with her feet over one of the arm rests, “Are you fucking kidding? This is gonna be better than last year’s New Years incident!”

Elena made a series of undistinguishable loud noises, collapsing into a chair, “No, we don’t talk of that day!”

Sora grinned, hopping into a chair, “But I’m curious now!”

Hazel bounced over and sat in a chair, “Join us next time! You’ll experience it. Happens every year.”

Donald and Goofy fiddled with various controls and we were off. I watched space pass us by through the large glass windows. I barely registered the same look of awe on everyone else’s faces.

It was much later that a world became closer. Donald and Goofy steered the gummi ship closer and closer to the world’s surface. A grassy field with a single fairly enormous hole.

Donald opened the door, “Let’s investigate the area before we-”

“GERONIMOOOOO!” Sylvia’s scream whipped through everyone with a blurred glimpse of her fingertips as she disappeared down hole.

Hazel jumped in after her. Elena and grasped each other’s hands and followed. I heard the boys not long after. I squeezed both my eyes and Elena’s hand tightly.

“You’re doing great, Kass... It’s alright...” I heard the soothing sound of Elena’s whisper, “We’ll be there soon...”

It was a few moments later that I felt my feet gently touch solid ground. I opened my eyes carefully before falling to my hands and knees with a sigh of relief. Sylvia held out her hand with a frown and narrowed eyes. I buried my head in her chest, shuddering for a moment. I heard the sound of a thump behind me. Upon inspection, I discovered it was Goofy that had fallen onto his stomach.

Suddenly a white rabbit in a red waist coat hurried through, “Oh my fur and whiskers! I’m late, I’m late, I’m late! Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear! I’m here, I should be there! I’m late, I’m late, I’m late! The queen, she’ll have my head for sure!” He disappeared around the corner.

The girls grinned at each other before belting out, “I’m late, I’m late! For a very important date! No time to say hello, goodbye! I’m late, I’m late, I’m late!”

The boys frowned, confusion evident in their entire bodies. Sora suddenly gasped, pointing at Hazel, “Whoa! What happened?!”

All eyes fell on said female. She donned a thick strapped dress with a v-dip into her cleavage, fishnet covering up to the middle of her neck. The black, navy, and dark violet left side trailed down to below her knee with a yellow, light pink, and orange pocket lining on her left hip. The yellow, light pink, and orange right side trailed down to her right thigh with a black, navy, and dark violet pocket lining on her right hip. Silver lace decorated the bottom of the dress. She wore a tight yellow, light pink, and orange arm band from her elbow, turning into a white cuff around her wrist on the left side. She wore a similar one on her right arm of black, navy, and dark violet. Her black high heels wrapped criss-crossing ribbons up her legs to below her knee. Her hair was held in a high ponytail by a black ribbon.

“This is... incredible...” She whispered down at herself.

I stroked the fabric around her hip, “How does it feel?”

“Powerful.” She swallowed. A weak grin appeared on her lips, “Curiouser and curiouser.”

Sylvia snorted, “That was weak.”

Elena rolled her eyes, “More like suspicious.”

Goofy smiled, chuckling, “You sure look pretty, Hazel!”

Her grin gained sincerity and she twirled, “Thanks! I don’t know what happened but I’ll take it!”

I grinned, “Well, let’s go already! New clothes can’t be the only thing we’ll find differently!”

I hurried around the corner, leading the group towards a medium sized door.

That led to a smaller door.

That led to an even smaller door.


	23. Heightened

-April 10, 2009-

Sylvia’s POV

Elena cracked a smirk in Kassy’s direction, “You sure your breasts will get through?”

Blushing a dark cherry, she punched her in the arm, “Shut up! You always do that!” In defiance to prove Elena was wrong, she dropped to her knees and crawled through the door ahead of everyone.

I whispered to the other girls, making sure she couldn’t hear, “On your knees, bitch!”

When everyone was through the door, Kassy could only pout to display her confusion at the girls’ hysteria. The room contained a fireplace with a stove attachment, a bed, a flat table bookshelf combination, two arm chairs, and a tall clock.

I elbowed Elena in the side with a grin before heading to the corner inconspicuously. I dramatically fell against the bed, having it slide into the wall. I gasped sarcastically, “Weiiiird! Wonder why that happened!”

The girls were all but blue in the face trying not to laugh. The boys attempted a few times to question but decided against it in the end.

“Guys! The rabbit!” Donald pointed beside Sylvia as the white rabbit, smaller than Sylvia’s shoe ran through a door. The wooden door with a golden knob swung shut behind him.

Sora got to his knees, leaning closer to the door, “How did he get so small?”

“No, you’re simply too big.” The door replied smugly.

Everyone jumped and made a startled noise. Donald squawked, recovering first, “It talks!”

The door yawned, “Must you be so loud? You woke me up.”

Goofy smiled, waving, “Good morning.”

The door snorted, “Good night! I need a bit more sleep.”

Sora leaned on his palms further, “Wait! What do we have to do to grow small?”

The door sighed, “Why don’t you try the bottle? Over there?”

All eyes turned behind us to the sudden appearance of a glass table and cushioned chair. I cheered and hopped to my feet first, grabbing the blue bottle and washing down a gulp.

Feeling suddenly weighted down, I closed my eyes for a moment. I reopened them at the sound of collective gasping. From my now giant companions. Kassy giggled, holding out her palms. I climbed on and she brought me closer to her face, everyone gathering around to see, “How does it feel?”

“Itchy in all the wrong places.” I deadpanned, earning a few glares and a few snickers, “It doesn’t feel any different. And the taste isn’t bad. Hazy’s cooking’s better though.”

Hazel grinned widely at this before sipping from the bottle. She shrank until she stood upon the table the same size as me. Kassy set me down and took a sip, handing it off to Elena, who passed it down the line.

When everyone had been miniaturized, I ran over, pushing Sora off the table. He screamed, landing with a painful thud on his arm. I almost felt bad at the weak groan that left his lips. Almost.

Kassy screamed running to the edge, “Sora! Are you al- Oh...” Her breath shuddered as she backed away from the edge and onto her ass.

“I-I’m fine...” He stood up shakily, “Why did you push me?”

I shrugged, looking away from everyone’s gazes, “Friendly guiding nudge.”

Elena snorted, “That was weak even for you, Evans.”

Rolling my eyes, I hopped off the table, wincing and falling backwards as pain shot up my nerves, “Holy shit bad idea...”

Hazel grinned over the edge, singing, “Karma!” She slid down, falling onto her ass, “Ow!”

Gripping the edge, Elena slowly dropped down, “Ahhh! Wait, I’m okay.”

Donald and Goofy, to our misfortune, landed perfectly causing a collective pout. I looked up through the clear glass, “You can do it, Kassy. You can do it.”

Her eyes were squeezed shut tightly, her body curled up in a ball. She shook her head, hands clutching her hair so tightly I could see the whitening even from the ground.

-FLASHBACK-

3rd Person POV

“Guys, come on! You’ll miss it!” A young 8 year old chestnut haired girl giggled to her friends, running ahead of them further up the hill, “You guys are so slow!”

“Kassy! Slow down! The sunset isn’t a cheetah!” An 11 year old forest brown haired girl pushed a golden brown haired child out of her way to get closer to the cliff.

“Wait for me guys! I can’t keep up to you like this!” A raven haired female, despite her panting, giggled.

“There it is... Isn’t it beautiful?” The four stood atop the highest cliff on their island, watching the sun’s slow farewell.

The youngest stepped closer to the edge, closing her eyes, smiling widely as the breeze gently caressed her hair. Her friends’ laughter carried through the wind, only to be exchanged for screams. The ground crumbled beneath the chestnut haired child’s feet, sending her hurdling towards the icy black waters.

The forest brown haired female was the first to spring into action and bolted in search of an authority figure. A few hours later, each sat in the hospital next to their bedridden friend.

Beep...

Beep...

Beep...

-End Flashback-

“Come on, Kasandra! It’s not that bad! You can do it!” Sora frowned, stepping closer, “It’s not too big of a drop. We’ll catch you!”

Her head jerked side to side. Sora’s worried frown deepened, “Hold on, I’ll help you.”

“Oh no, you don’t.” I stuck my foot out, causing him to face plant, “I’ve got it covered. You don’t need to play hero.”

I climbed the chair and onto the table, wrapping my arms around the curled up brunette, “Hey, Kassy... It’s alright... I’m here...”

A hiccup escaped before she flung herself onto me, burying her head in my chest, shaking violently, “S-So m-much w-wat-ter... S-So c-cold-d...”

I whispered soothing melodies in her ear, clutching her tightly and lifting her up with her legs around my waist and arms around my neck. I carefully scaled the chair and onto the ground safely.

No one spoke for a few moments as Kassy unattached her shaking self. Elena pointed behind us, “Looks like we have company.” A group of heartless appeared.


	24. Welcome To Mystery

-April 10, 2009-

Kassy’s POV

I heard the small whimper escaping my lips even as Elena released her hold on me to suddenly let out a scream. The army of shadow heartless doubled, surrounding us in a circle, slowly creeping closer. The boys dove into their own fight with individual heartless.

Sylvia bared her teeth, backing up with Hazel, a long staff appearing in the brunette’s hands, and a fairly sized book in the blonde’s.

“I don’t know about you guys, but I almost feel... guilty about-” Sylvia began.

“Not alone.” Hazel frowned, “And you gotta remember everyone’s agreed they’re cu-”

Making my own noise of agreement, I backed up with Elena, who groaned, a step behind me, guns materialising in my hands. A pair of twin swords appeared in Elena’s hands,

“L-Let’s just get it over with and worry about that creepy, seemingly unanimous, feeling later.” Elena suggested.

Red nocturnes appeared; the fire spells sent our way sending every female in a different direction backwards. I noticed a large group of shadows pounce on Hazel, whose book had slid further away. 

I screamed, shooting my gun haphazardly in her direction, “Leave her alone!”

All at once, every one of the shadows paused and slowly turned their heads to me, antennae twitching. More fire balls sent our way broke the shocked silence. With weapons in hand, everyone dove in until every last heartless was gone.

Sylvia gripped my shoulder from behind, hissing in my ear, “What the fuck was that?”

I wrapped my arms around myself, biting my lip, turning my eyes away from her as she forced my body to face her, “I-I don’t know...” I recalled what had happened similarly on the island.

Sora, Donald, and Goofy ran over to us. Donald tapped his foot impatiently, grumbling, “Come on. We need to keep moving. Lucky enough those shadows had better things to do than fight us.”

I grit my teeth with a nervous laugh. Sylvia curled her hand over my shoulder, tightening her grip to a painful notch, “Let’s go see what we can discover.” I shied away from the smirk on her lips, “Shall we?”

I caught Sora’s worried glance between us. I gave him a weak smile and allowed Sylvia to all but shove me forward to follow Donald and Goofy to the opening in the wall next to the talking doorknob.

When we emerged from darkness, the first sight that met us was the sight of the backs of a group of large card soldiers blocking the entrance of a hedge archway. On closer inspection, the area looked to be one of an outdoor courtroom.

The white rabbit we had been following earlier came running up a winding staircase to the top of a podium, putting a trumpet to his lips. Panting after playing a short tune, he called out to the gathered crowd, “Court is now in session!”

A small blonde girl with a black ribbon in a blue dress and apron frowned, “I’m on trial? But why?”

The rabbit ignored her, “Her majesty, the Queen of Hearts, presiding!”

A pudgy woman with a bun of black hair and in an intricately designed black and red dress was sitting on a large throne at the back of the area, holding a fan before her face. She spoke out loudly, “The girl is the culprit. There’s no doubt about it. And the reason is... because I say so, that’s why!”

“That is so unfair!” The girl protested.

“Well, have you anything to say in your defence?” The Queen of Hearts smirked.

“Of course! I’ve done absolutely nothing wrong! You may be queen, but I’m afraid that doesn’t give you the right to be so... so mean!” I smiled at her courage.

“Silence! You dare defy me?!” The woman growled, slamming her fists down, literally shaking the ground beneath our feet. I gripped onto the closest person to me to steady myself. I met Sora’s smile with an embarrassed one.

“Hey, guys, we should help her out.” Sora’s smile faded to a frown as he turned back to the scene before us.

“Yeah, but the-” Donald was cut off.

“We’re outsiders, so wouldn’t that be muddling?” Goofy asked.

“Meddling.” Elena corrected almost immediately.

“Oh, yeah. And that’s against the rules.” Goofy chuckled.

“The court finds the defendant... Guilty as charged! For crimes of assault and attempted theft of my heart...” The Queen turned to her card soldiers, “Oooooff with her head!”

“No! No! Oh, please!” Alice cried, clutching her hands together in fear.

Sora ran past the cards, the rest of us in tow, “Hold it right there!”

The Queen leaned forward across her throne stand, demanding, “Who are you? How dare you interfere with my court?!”

“Excuse me. But we know who the real culprit is!” Sora exclaimed.

Both Goofy and Sylvia spoke, “Uh-huh. It’s the Heartle-” Where as Goofy covered his own mouth with his hands. Elena and I slapped a hand on hers.

“Anyway. She’s not the one you’re looking for.” Sora pointed to the young blonde girl.

“That’s nonsense. Have you any proof?” The Queen growled, fanning herself with her heart shaped fan.

“Uh...” Sora’s hand slowly lowered.

The Queen then proceeded to order the girl into the golden cage next to the Queen’s throne, “Bring me evidence of Alice’s innocence! Fail and it’s off with all your heads! Gather as much or little evidence as you please. Report back here once you’re ready.”

Sora was the first to step away from the group to head through the exit near a two of spades, however the Queen stopped us. My eyebrows furrowed. What? But there was nothing else she said...

“To make sure you get evidence and don’t dilly dally, one of you will be captive as well.”

I felt Sylvia shoot my arm into the air before she had even finished speaking, “She volunteers as tribute!”

A dark blush crept over my cheeks, “Syvy, no, wait-”

She was pushed away by two cards as they grasped each of my wrists and threw me into the cage with Alice. Tears sprung to my eyes, as my head smacked quite hard against the bars.

“We’ll be back soon, Kass.” I heard the frown in Elena’s voice. The cage became shrouded by a red velvet curtain.

I rubbed my eyes and my aching head before smiling unsurely at the girl in the cramped cage, “Hi...”

“Hello...” Her smile was bright and genuine, “I’m Alice.”

“I know.” I said without thinking. It took a few moments before her expression registered, “I-I mean... I’m Kasandra. Or Kassy. Or whatever you’d like”

“Okay, Kasandra.” Her smile returned, “What do you mean you know?”

“I-It’s complicated...” I bit my lip, “I’ve heard of you is all. Friend of a friend and the like. Let’s leave it at that.”

She nodded after a moment, “I’d like to thank you for saving me. I seem to always be finding trouble.”

I shook my head with a smile, “It’s normal. I think this place is a bit strange. Trouble might be inevitable.”

She giggled, “I guess you’re right.” I asked her about where she came from and listened to her story.


	25. To Our Surprise

-April 10, 2009-

Sylvia’s POV

Feeling a pair of eyes drilling into my back, I halted my steps, not bothering to turn around, “Yes, Sora?”

It took him a moment to speak, “Why did you volunteer her? She could have been hurt!”

Rolling my eyes, I turned to face him, “I don’t have to explain myself to you.”

He clenched his fists,” No, tell me why.”

I snorted, “Yeah, that’s gonna make me do what you tell me.”

At the sudden pain on my ear, I rubbed it gently, glaring at Elena who was frowning, “Don’t be a bitch.” She turned to Sora, “Don’t bother with her. It’s not worth it.”

Taking a deep breath, I grit my teeth, facing Sora, “Sorry. She’s fine.”

His air of worry dissipated slightly, “Shouldn’t you have been the one in the cage then...?”

“Why?” I blinked, genuinely confused.

He clenched and unclenched a fist, looking nervous, “Well, it just seemed like you’d always be there to look out for her.”

A giggle escaped my lips before I could stop it. I shrugged, answering instead, “I promise she’s fine.”

Sora nodded slightly after a moment, “Okay...”

I rubbed a hand over my face, “Seriously, Sora. I assure you. She’s perfectly capable of taking care of herself.”

Elena muttered under her breath, “Most of the time it’s her looking out for you.” I elbowed her in the stomach.

To my surprise, a light pink stained his cheeks, “I-I know she can... I just-”

Donald began squawking angrily, “Hey! Back on track, you guys!” 

Suddenly to our right, a cat began to materialise atop a large boulder near us, slowly pink by purple stripe. Tail, torso, and then head. Donald screamed, “Who are you?!”

A wink was aimed at Elena, Hazel, and I each, “Who, indeed?”

“Cheshire cat!” Hazel grinned widely in all but matching size to said cat.

“Cheshie!” I squealed before I could stop myself.

“Yes, my dears? Then again... You know each answer I could have given.” Elena’s eyes grew the size of dinner plates. Hazel’s grin threatened to split at the ends.

I choked on an intake of air, “This is an absolute dream...”

“Maybe yes, maybe no.” He answered vaguely. This answer sat very uncomfortably in my stomach.

“Maybe both.” I answered to distract my thoughts.

“Indeed! Poor Alice. Soon to lose her head and she’s not guilty of a thing!” The cat examined its claws nonchalantly.

“Hey! If you know who the real culprit is, tell us!” I rolled my eyes at Sora’s inquiry.

“The Cheshire Cat has all the answers, but doesn’t always tell.” A grin narrowed in on the girls, “The answer, the culprit, and the cat all lie in darkness.” He began to disappear stripe by stripe, until only his grin remained. With one last chuckle, it disappeared as well.

“Wait!” Sora called.

The cat’s voice echoed, “They’ve already left the forest. I won’t tell which exit. However. Someone may know that there are four pieces of evidence in all and three are a cinch to find.”

Sora frowned, “The fourth is tricky?”

“Tricky indeed!” The voice echoed.

“Should we trust him?” Donald asked, warily.

The cat appeared once more on the boulder near us, “To trust or not to trust? I trust you’ll decide with whom!” And with that said, he disappeared once more.

A grin slapped onto my lips, “Okay. We’ll split up into teams.” My eyes narrowed at Donald, who dared open his mouth. He shut it, crossing his arms over his chest.

“Hazel and Goofy, Elena and Donald, and you and me, Sora.” I instructed shortly.

With a unanimous mumbled agreement, everyone went in separate directions. Sylvia whispered in my ear as they walked away. I noticed her whisper in Elena’s further away.

Hazel’s POV

“Come over here, Goofy.” I dragged him through a wall of leaved branches into a small clearing with variously sized mushrooms. I searched around the area but the pink box was nowhere to be found. I frowned, rubbing my head in thought.

The patch of grass next to my feet suddenly caught fire. Goofy and I quickly took down the red nocturnes that had suddenly materialized around us. I then noticed a set of paw-like footprints on the ground leading out the branches we came through. My eyebrows furrowed. That was very different. I fell to my knees, ignoring Goofy’s inquiries, and began digging carefully around the footprints. I frowned, looking around before ordering my companion to grab a large leaf.

With the footprints carefully piled onto the leaf, I stood up, “Let’s go find the second evidence. Something tells me it’s close by.” Without giving him a chance to respond, I headed deeper into the forest. I carefully moved through the trees with the leaf in my hands. Eventually we came upon a patch of mushrooms. A few shadow heartless appeared. Goofy easily defeated them. Once again there was no pink box to be found. However, above the smallest mushroom was a small white stream of smoke.

An idea popped into my head, “Goofy, empty that potion you had and capture that smoke.” He obliged with a questioning glance. There wasn’t much in the jar, but there was enough.

“The others can handle getting the rest.” I lead my companion back to the Queen’s court, ignoring his non-verbal questions as best I could.

Elena’s POV

“This way, Donald.” He shook his head in retaliation insisting on the opposite direction. An angry growl erupted from my lips, “I know which way. Come on.” I was faltering slightly under his suspicious glare, but I held my ground. Finally, he agreed and followed.

We traveled deeper into the forest until I could no longer recognize the layout. This wasn’t right. I searched and searched. I turned to argue with Donald for squawking, only to observe a fight against a few red nocturnes. I dove in to help. After they had disappeared, he faced me with a questioning tilt of his head.

I bit my lip with narrowed eyes at the ground for a moment before letting out a quiet, “Oh!” I ran closer to the duck and picked up the jagged black stick-like figures on the ground.

I winced at the damp, cold, and slithery feeling. I quickly grasped a large nearby leaf and wrapped them up, handing them to him afterward, “Antennae. Let’s head back. The other’s have it handled.”

He looked ready to protest before changing his mind and following behind me back to the Queen’s court.

Sylvia’s POV

I watched my friends disappear around different corners before smirking at Sora, “Alright. Let’s go find that tricky one.”

“What? Why do we- Okay fine,” Sora stopped himself before smiling unsurely, “Might even be fun!”

I led him through the forest. Ten minutes went by and we were lost. I glared behind me at Sora.

His eyebrows furrowed, “What did I do?”

The glare lessened only to a frown as I began trifling through the bushes. No luck. There was no box. An hour later, I found a dark opening in a large tree. I grasped an annoyed Sora by the shoulder and dragged him through. He protested until they turned to screams. My own screams were not far behind. It was a fluke that both of us grabbed a hold of the faucet on the wall on the way down.

I grit my teeth, looking to the left, “You gotta be fucking kidding me. Sora, look! There are claw marks on the wall over there! We gotta get a chunk of the wall.”

I hauled myself up, taking a deep breath and jumping towards the ledge, only to fall short. I let my forehead bump against the wall gently, “Shit.”

I heard Sora’s intake of breath, “Are you okay?”

“Yeah.” I hauled myself up onto the flat edge. I frowned, “But there’s nothing I can dig the wall out with.”

I yelped, clinging to the fireplace bricks to the side and Sora jumped the gap without falling short. My glare increased, “Show off.”

He grinned, Keyblade suddenly in hand, “I have an idea. Just stay against the wall. I don’t want to smack you accidentally.” As he began carefully stabbing the wall around the claw marks with the bottom of the Keyblade, I was glad I listened for once. 

When the wall was weakened, I stopped him and worked the wall chunk out with my hands. With the piece in hand, I grinned at the boy beside me only for it to fade at his worried expression, “Um... How do we get down?”

I looked over the edge with a slightly frown, “Didn’t think of that.” I glanced to the right, “Bricks. We gotta climb down. Carefully.”

Sora audibly gulped, “You first?”

I snorted despite my similar anxiety, “Pussy.” I pulled my shirt away by the collar slightly and stuff the wall chunk into my bra. I snickered at the dark blush and avoiding gaze on Sora’s face. Carefully and quite slowly, the two of us descended down the fireplace, safely landing on the ground. I led Sora back to the Queen’s court.


	26. Castle De-Explorations

-April 10, 2009-

Kassy’s POV

I clutched the golden metal bars of the cage, watching a distracted, frowning Sora trail behind a smug Sylvia into the courtyard. I could feel an angry pout forming on my face at the thought of what she could have possibly said to him.

The Queen sighed loudly, “I require rest. Night fell too quickly for my liking. We shall resume the trial at sunrise tomorrow. You there, cards, escort the prisoners to the dungeons. And you cards, escort the others to the guest quarters. If anyone is late tomorrow, off with their head!” The Queen bellowed before rising and walking over to a hedge.

It lowered to reveal a simple golden door with a large elaborately decorated red heart. Two cards followed behind her through the door.

The cage was opened, two cards grasping a tight hold of each of my wrists. Another two cards grasped Alice’s wrists.

Sylvia snarled loudly, attempting to pass one of the card guards, “I can’t even fucking enjoy the rest of this world! We know nothing about it! Kassy, why did you agree to this?”

I glared over my shoulder, “Syvy, you-”

To my surprise, Sora had gripped Sylvia’s shoulder. His expression was angry, unlike his usual peaceful and optimistic one, “Don’t worry, Kasandra, we’ll fix this.”

The cards forced us through the door before I could reply. The other cards led the others in the opposite direction as us. The hallways all looked the same on our way through various doors until we were led down a narrow stone spiral staircase.

The cards threw the two of us into the small cell, proceeding to slam and lock the wooden door behind us. The inside of the brick walls was cold and damp. In the corner of the cramped dirt floor was a small pile of dirty and quite frankly, smelly hay. I clutched the bars of the door, frowning at the retreating backs of the card soldiers as they marched their way up the stairs.

Sora’s POV

-A Few Hours Later-

It was easier than I had thought to walk out of the room. When I had cautiously opened the door, Keyblade in hand, I discovered there wasn’t anyone in the long, narrow hallway. There was only the sound of angry singing coming from the room Sylvia resided in a few doors down.

I walked down to her room, opening the door without knocking. Sylvia’s voice cut off abruptly. She looked up from her lounging position on the bed with the darkest look on her face that I could physically feel a chill run down my spine. I swallowed thickly, “Um... I’m gonna... go rescue Kasandra...?”

Sylvia snorted loudly at that.

“Fuck that. Why bother? We’ll see her tomorrow.” She groaned, slapping an arm over her eyes, “Fuck, why did this happen? This was not in any version. Sora, do you understand how fucking stupid this is? Of course you don’t. Why would you? Just go do your pathetic rescue mission. I’d wish you good luck but fuck if it mattered.”

Taken aback, I cringed backwards. I gathered as much courage as I could and stood my ground, stepping closer to the bed, “What is your problem?”

To my credit, a flash of fear danced across her expression for a moment before disappearing as if it hadn’t happened. She raised an eyebrow, stonily, “Problem? Nothing at all.”

I crossed my arms over my chest, “No, you have a problem with me. And I want to know why. I’ve never met you in my life and you act as if I’ve done the worst thing imaginable to you; that I deserve this treatment. What did I ever do to you?”

She ground her teeth in complete silence for several long minutes. Finally, she tilted her head slightly with narrowed eyes, “You have no idea who any of us are. Deserve this treatment? Oh, Sora... You have no idea who you’re dealing with...”

A shiver ran down my spine as she gracefully stood from the bed and stalked towards me, “You... Have no... idea... Sora... Sora... Sora...”

I swallowed thickly, backing up until I hit the doorframe. It must have been only a trick of the lighting, but I could have sworn her eyes flickered between her normal eyes and snow white a few times, “Sora... Trust me... You’ll get what’s coming to you... Believe me... You will see...”

Before I could react, both her palms thrust forward, sending me sprawling out the doorway. When I looked back up at her, she was clutching the door with a glare, eyes as normal as ever, “Don’t go sticking your nose where it doesn’t belong.” And with that she slammed the door and locked it.

I stayed on the floor for a few moments longer, staring at the door, unsure of how to react. Eventually I stood, using the Keyblade for leverage. I took off down the hallway.

Kassy’s POV

I sighed for the hundredth time, head against the door, tapping my fingers against it occasionally.

Alice shivered in the corner, hugging herself, tears running down her cheeks, “Oooh... Why did I follow that rabbit? I could have been reading that boring book with my sister in the warm safe quilt at my home...”

I frowned, shivering under another draft, “It’s okay, Alice... We’ll be out soon... It’ll be morning soon...”

She sniffled, shivering once more, “I want to go home! I miss my sister... I miss my father...”

I looked down at my hands in my lap with a frown, “I...I miss my mom...”

It fell silent. The only sounds to be heard were the escaped wind and the occasional shiver from each of us. It was some time later I looked over at Alice to discover she had fallen asleep, although she still was shivering.

I frowned, feeling helpless. Then I heard something outside the door. I stood, ignoring my violent shivers. I clutched the bars, trying to see what made the sound.

I saw red through the darkness; too much red for just a card soldier, “Sora?”

“Kasandra! Don’t worry I’m here to get you out!” He spoke in hushed tones as he rushed to the cell door.

“Wait!” I rushed through my words, “Don’t rescue us!”

He looked taken aback, “What? But don’t you want to escape? I can help!”

I bit my lip, “I know. I do, but just trust me. We’ll be fine when the trial starts again tomorrow. It would be worse if she found both of us were gone. Everyone would be punished. It’s better if you leave us here. We’ll be fine until tomorrow.” I barely repressed a shiver from another breeze, “Trust me, okay, Sora?”

He protested for a moment before finally taking a deep breath, “Okay.” He looked down. I thought it was safe to shiver for a moment.

Sora frowned, shrugging off his jacket, “You’re freezing! Here!”

I shook my head to protest, only to bit my lip, “Thank you...” I took it from him through the bars and hurried to drape it over Alice in the corner. She curled in, ceasing her shivering.

I smiled, heading back to the door, “She needs it more than I do.”

Sora frowned, but otherwise remained silent. I sighed, “I’m sorry, but it’s really the best way. Just leave us be. We’ll be fine.”

He blinked twice before shaking his head, “Fine...”

I smiled weakly, “Thank you for trying, Sora. I really appreciate it.” The grim look on his face didn’t sit well with me, “What’s wrong?”

He hesitated, “Well... Just... Just something Sylvia said.”

I groaned, letting my head fall against the bars, “Oh no... Just... Sora, she’s a good person. I promise you. She can be cruel but it’s all an act okay? Just keep calling her out and she’ll change eventually. She’ll get better.”

He took a deep breath and smiled weakly, “Okay. I trust you.”

Footsteps began echoing behind him. I gasped, “The guards! Go! We’ll be fine! I’ll see you tomorrow at the trial! Good luck!”

With a hesitant nod, he disappeared up the stairs.


	27. The Cat's Calling

-April 11, 2009-

Sora’s POV

“...A... Ora... Sora!” I shook myself of my thoughts, coming back to the trial at hand.

Sylvia rolled her eyes, “Oh my god. The Queen SAID: Choose only one box to decide Alice’s innocence.”

I shook my head to clear my mind, eyebrows scrunching up, “Wait, what?” I frowned at the Queen perched in her throne, “Why? After all the trouble of collecting them all?”

“Silence! You dare defy me? Then it will be your head!” Cringing, I walked over to the boxes laid between the stand and throne and pondered. Four of the boxes we had collected and one that the Queen had provided.

“Come on, Sora, you can do it.” Kasandra clutched the bars of the inside of the cage beside the Queen.

With a deep breath, I opened the second box on the left. The box flattened and shot up a hologram of... Kasandra? That can’t be right!

Everyone grew silent. Kasandra was the first to speak, “That’s definitely new. And most definitely wrong.”

The Queen screamed, rattling the ground, “OOOOOFF WITH HER HEAAAAAD!”

Sylvia smirked, staff raised, “Bring it on, bitches!”

Jumping out of the left booth, Hazel and Elena stood next to their friend, weapons raised.

The Queen growled, “You want to do this the hard way? Fine! OOOOOF WITH THEIR HEADS!”

The hedges and platforms moulded into the ground save for the Queen’s throne. A small yellow tower with a brown pointed roof and brown wheel on three sides rose from the ground. A ten of spades card soldier ran over and spun it.

“Be careful!” Kasandra cried and the cage’s blood red curtains shut, rising several feet off the ground.

Kassy’s POV

I smiled gently at Alice who had began shaking, “It’s alright. Everything’s going to be fine. Okay? Just trust me.”

She sniffled, tears beginning to fall, “A-Are you s-sure...?”

I nodded, taking one of her hands in mine, “Trust me. Everything is going to be fine. You need to be brave okay? You’ll be perfectly safe no matter what happens. Will you be strong?”

Alice sniffled before wiping her tears away with a handkerchief from her pockets, “Y-Yes... I promise...”

“Good girl.” Just as the words left my mouth, a black portal opened behind me. A hand covered the scream that threatened to tear from my lips. Alice screamed, trying to back up further away in the cramped cage.

“Shh... You’re safe... I’m not here to hurt you both...” My eyes widened. I ripped the hand away, “Riku!”

Alice had ceased her screams, although didn’t look like she was completely reassured. Lack of space prevented me from facing the other. I could feel him breathing against my neck, “Kasandra...”

“You really do come here.” I smiled, “You’ll take good care of Alice, won’t you?”

I could feel him tense immediately, “How did you-”

I cut him off immediately to prevent questions, “It doesn’t matter. Just take good care of her. And... Go easy on Sora. Please. He loves you. And I can see you love him. Don’t let jealousy and anger blind you from that.”

Hands curled tightly around my biceps, “You know nothing about me. How can you even think you have a right to-”

“Riku, stop!” I took a deep breath, “Riku...”

His tight grip didn’t loosen. He remained silent for a moment, “...Come with me.”

I bit my lip, forcing down the urge to swoon, “I... I can’t. I’m sorry. There are things I need to do.”

The grips on my biceps increased until I quietly gasped at the pain. His hands slipped away. I gently took a hold of Alice’s hand and manoeuvred around until she was closer to him, “Take good care of her.” I let go of her hand and smiled at Riku, “Next time you find us... I will come with you.”

A dark smirk that crept across his lips. They both disappeared in swirling darkness. A small wisp remained. I tilted my head, slowly reaching my hand towards it. It curled and weaved around my fingers and palm before sinking into my wrist. Darkness met my senses.

Sora’s POV

With one last attack on the tower, the structure broke down completely. I faced the lowering cage. The curtain pulled back with an anticipating audience.

It was empty?

“They must have been kidnapped while we were fighting!” Donald frowned. But how? And why?

“You fools! Find the one who’s responsible! I don’t care how!” The Queen bellowed. The soldiers scrambled in various directions.

“AHHHHH!” Someone came soaring down from the sky wrapped in wisps of darkness.

The individual landed on top of me, forcing me backwards onto the ground, “I’m so sorry, Sora!”

Sylvia dragged her off and to her feet. I stood by myself, “What the fuck was that about? Where the fuck is Alice?”

She ripped Sylvia’s grip off her with anger in her eyes, “I don’t know. I blacked out.”

Sylvia frowned, “Okay... Not buying it. But you’ll tell me later.”

She shook her head, “Whatever. I don’t know what happened. Let’s go find out.” The group followed her into the forest, tension all but a physical grey cloud above our heads.

When we emerged into the clearing, I put a hand on Kasandra’s shoulder. She looked over it with a tilt of her head. I smiled to reassure her, “Things will be okay. I promise.” She smiled weakly for a few seconds before it fell. She muttered a thank you.

Elena walked ahead of us, “Cheshire cat? Are you here?”

“You called, dear fabricators?” A large furry dark grey cat with dark blue stripes appeared with an enormous grin.

Sylvia’s eyes widened in amused amazement, “Oh my shit. No way. I-I... I didn’t think he could do that... Does that version even exist in this plane of existence?”

Hazel’s eyes were mirrored, “Should anything surprise us anymore?”

Sylvia tilted her head with thoughtful agreement. Both girls ran and dove at the floating cat, only to collide with each other on the cat-less ground.

“Stephen Fry’s got nothing on me.” His chuckle echoed behind us.

The girls looked like they were choking. I frowned, clutching my Keyblade, confused and worried. Donald and Goofy looked like they felt the same.

The Cheshire Cat’s grin widened even more, if that was possible, “Does darkness wither in light? Or does such existence really exist? Would you embrace neither or both? How IS a raven like a writing desk?”

Silence.

“No. Duh. Both. Edgar Allen Poe.” Sylvia’s grin gave the cat a run for his money.

“What she said.” The other girls hastily added.

“Has ANYONE seen Alice?” Donald burst out angrily.

“This way?” The cat pointed left, “That way?” He pointed right, “Does it matter? Left, right, up, down! All mixed up thanks to the shadows! Step deeper into the forest to the deserted garden. You might find shadows in the upside-down room! Oh, and fabricators? Have a merry unbirthday!”

“You too, Cheshie!” Hazel’s waving hand was a blur.

Sylvia tapped Elena, who was standing next to her, on the shoulder, “Was he pointing in the direction I think he was?”

Elena smiled and nodded. Hazel squealed, bolting ahead of us deeper into the forest, “Go go go!”

Donald, Goofy, and I hurried after the girls until we burst through a set of gates to a large pink clothed table with variously sized chairs. A short man with white hair in orange with a large green top hat was singing with a small panic stricken grey rabbit in a waist coat. The two linked arms, clanked their teacups together and gulped, singing a rather strange song.

The hated man frowned his annoyance at the sudden outburst of applause from the girls, “How rude! Crashing a party you weren’t invited to!”

Sylvia shrugged off his comment, “Cheshie sent us this way.”

The two table occupants screamed rather loudly and dove under the table, “We already told him yes! So leave us alone!”

Sylvia frowned quite deeply, “Heeeey, wait a minute! That’s not how this-”

Elena gripped her arm, effectively cutting her off, and dragging her through the door of the cottage next to the table.


	28. Fell Down A Hole

-April 11, 2009-

Sora‘s POV

The seven of us emerged through the garden cottage door to a strange room with two table-like structures in the centre. Two glass enclosures stood atop of the tables.

A snicker caused all heads to swivel behind us atop the slanted wall. The strange cat was leaning on one hand.

“They’re hiding somewhere. And the momeraths outgrabe. Want to find the shadows? Try turning on the light!” With that said, he disappeared stripe by stripe.

I clutched the Keyblade tighter, furrowing my brows. Heartless appeared in various locations around the strange room. After every last one had disappeared, Sylvia hoisted herself up onto one of the table structures. She raised her staff to the ceiling, the tip over the glass enclosure. The glass lit up like a lantern.

She grinned at the group, threatening to give the Cheshire Cat a run for his money, “One down, one to go! Think I can parkour to the other one?”

Without waiting for a response, she crouched down and dove at the other table. We all held our breath, wincing as her foot slipped and she came crashing down onto her back.

Everyone rushed to her side. Kassy dove to her knees, “Oh my god are you okay?!”

Sylvia gasped, back arching off the ground a few times, “Fine...! M’... fine... Good... Holy shit...”

Elena rolled her eyes, “You’re an idiot. Sora, wanna take care of it? Safely I beg of you.”

I shrugged, hoisting myself up onto the other table, raised my Keyblade above it as Sylvia had done. The glass lit up like a lantern.

Hazel screamed first, followed by everyone else as the grinning cat appeared behind her with a chuckle.

“All the lights are on. You’ll see the shadows soon. They’ll arise in this room, but somewhere else. The shadows might go after the doorknob, too.” And with that said, he disappeared once more.

“Come on guys! Let’s go!” Donald squawked.

We hurried back the way we came, through the garden, through the forest and into the Queen’s courtyard. The cards were scrambling, searching the area, causing us to stumble around and/or bump into each other. The queen fanned herself with narrowed eyes atop her throne. Finally we emerged back in the room with enlarged furniture.

The cat was waiting for us atop the tall table.

“You’ll have a better view from higher up.” Only Donald and Goofy joined me. The cat’s grin widened impossibly further, “The shadows should be here soon. Are you prepared for the worst? If not, too bad!”

All eyes looked to the ceiling just in time to witness a strange, folded, pink and purple paper like creature with a long head with several pairs of eyes. It shot several balls of fire at each of us.

00000

“What a racket. How’s a doorknob to get any sleep?” All heads swiveled to the wooden door, the golden doorknob yawning its complaints.

A large yawn widened its mouth impossibly wide to reveal a keyhole. I gasped as the Keyblade appeared in my head, shaking and raising parallel to the ground. A beam of light shot from the tip into the keyhole. A loud locking sound echoed in the room.

“What was that?” Donald wondered aloud.

Elena smiled, her expression thoughtful, “Sounds like something closed. Has to be important if your Keyblade did it automatically, huh, Sora?”

I shrugged, looking down at the weapon in my hands in wonder, “I guess so.”

Kassy suddenly yelped as the cat appeared once more next to the door, “Splendid! You’re quite the heroes. If you’re looking for Alice, she’s not here. She’s gone! Off with the shadows, into darkness.”

“No...” I frowned, watching the cat disappear once again.

Donald sighed, “Let’s go back to the gummi ship. We might find her in another world.”

00000

It was quiet as everyone filed into the ship. The girls all but collapsed into a chair almost immediately. Donald and Goofy went over to the controls. I stood watching everyone for a moment before taking a seat on a chair with a deep, slow breath. I closed my eyes for a moment before opening them. Kassy was giving me a smile.

“What?” I grinned back.

She shook her head, “Nothing. Just making sure everyone’s okay.”

Sylvia snorted, “Okay mom.”

Elena raised an eyebrow with a snicker, “And here I thought I was the mother?”

Hazel nodded enthusiastically, “You are, but Vy-Vy’s still pissed about her humiliating failed parkour stunt.”

Red immediately rushed to the angry brunette’s face, “Shut up! It could have happened to anyone! And I could have made it if I did it again!”

Elena rolled her eyes, “You keep telling yourself that.”

Sylvia growled before standing up abruptly, “Whatever. I’m going to bed. I want a good night’s sleep before we head to the next world.”

Donald made a noise of agreement, not turning away from the dashboard. Kassy yawned, stretching her arms high above her head, “I’m not far behind.” The other two girls followed suit.

I watched the starry space pass by the window for awhile. Goofy sat in the seat next to me, Donald in the other.

It was quite a bit of silence later that Donald frowned.

“So... What do you make of these girls?” He asked.

I blinked before turning my gaze to the duck, “Well... They seem trustworthy... Maybe a little... eccentric... But they don’t seem... bad... What about you guys?”

Goofy smiled, “I agree. I think we’ll all be good friends for a long time!”

Donald hummed, “I just... Think there’s something off about them. I just can’t put my feather on it.”

I frowned, thinking of the late night visit to Sylvia’s room last night, “...Maybe...”

Goofy shook his head, “Gawrsh. I don’t think anything’s bad. But I do agree something’s... off.”

I smiled at him, “Yeah. You’re right. What could possibly go wrong?”

Donald’s eyes narrowed, “Absolutely everything? You’re a kid who just discovered the existence of other worlds. What about them? We know nothing about them? Come to think of it, we don’t know anything about you either. You say you’re just a kid, but the Keyblade is a mysterious power. Can we even trust you?”

I jumped slightly, taken aback, “H-hey! I’m just a kid! I-I’m not... Not anything special... I promise...”

With a heavy heart, I all but ran deeper into the ship to my room.


	29. I Can Go The Distance

-April 12, 2009-

Sora’s POV

You couldn’t cut the tension with a knife if you wanted to. Everyone silently ate breakfast at their chairs in the cockpit of the gummi ship. No one made eye contact. I expected Goofy to attempt to break the uncomfortable morning but even he didn’t make a sound.

It was only when a world came into view that Donald broke the painful silence, “Everyone, get ready to land.”

When we arrived through the elaborately engraved wooden door, all eyes fell on Sylvia, everyone gasping her name.

She wore a high collar white long sleeved shirt that flipped up to black connecting to her elbow on the left arm. A dark blue collar wrapped around her neck. A small red heart sat on the shirt below her breasts. Underneath the heart sat a row of yellow diamonds, followed by a row of blue spades underneath. Another small red heart sat above her pants in the middle of a row of green clubs. She wore baggy black pants that flared at the ankles with large zippers off center on each pant leg to mid thigh. Two large fuchsia belts wrapped around her waist. A small single fuchsia belt sat on her lower right thigh. Four small fuchsia belts lined her left thigh with loops that held her staff, which now was shorter as well as smaller. She also wore a white boot on the right foot and a black boot on the left foot.

After the girls fussed over Sylvia’s new outfit, the group continued. On the other side of the courtyard were two large statues, a door in between. The door led to a small lobby like room. A small overweight satyr fiddled with a sign in the far left corner.

“Um...” The only noise I made was enough to alert him to our presence.

Without turning around he pointed behind himself, “Good timing. Give me a hand, will ya? Move that pedestal over there for me. I gotta spruce this place up for the games.”

Even with the seven of us, it wouldn’t even budge.

“It’s way too heavy!” I groaned, walking back over to the satyr.

“What? Too heavy? Since when have you been such a little-” He finally faced us, “Oh. Wrong guy. What’re you doing here? This here’s the world-famous coliseum- heroes only!”

He jumped off the stand to force a nervous Donald backwards, “And I got my hands full preparing for the games. So, run along pip-squeaks.”

My eyes narrowed at the little satyr.

“Look, it’s like this,” He continued, “Heroes are coming from all over to fight ferocious monsters right here in the coliseum.”

“You got heroes standing right in front of you.” Donald grumbled.

“Yup! He’s a real hero chosen by the Keyblade!” Goofy put his hands on my shoulders.

“Hero? That runt?” The satyr began laughing.

“What’s so funny?! I’ve fought a bunch of monsters!” I glared.

“Hey, if you can’t even move this...” He attempted to move the pedestal, only to fail, “You can’t call yourself... A hero!”

He stood up, panting,” Okay... so, it takes more than brawn. Well... Well, let’s see what you can do.”

Suddenly, his eyes bulged, “Whoa!”

He pushed Donald away to step closer to Elena and Sylvia who were leaning against the far wall, smoothing his hair, a smirk on his lips, “And to what do I owe the pleasure, ladies?”

Sylvia fluttered her eyelashes, “Would you perhaps...” She twisted a lock of her hair, “Let us... participate?”

His smirk dropped into a frown, “Sorry, sugar cakes. No can do.”

Growling, she let her hair go, fire in her eyes, “Come on! We could totally kick their asses!”

“Such language for such a pretty thing.” The satyr chided.

Sylvia scoffed, crossing her arms over her chest, and storming out of the lobby.

“Come on, Phil!” Hazel pouted. I assumed she saw his name on one of the many posters on the walls.

“I’m sorry, sweet cheeks. It’s against my policy.” He shrugged, looking less apologetic than he had with Sylvia.

Elena took a deep sigh, “Come on, let us prove ourselves.” She smiled, “I have a feeling you just love seeing people make fools of themselves. Why not enjoy yourself? Maybe we’ll impress you.”

Everyone waited with baited breath.

Phil reluctantly answered after awhile, “Fine. We’ll put the boys together and the girls together on separate teams.” The girls all shared a grin.

The barrel training was one of the most difficult things I’ve ever done. Even gym class back home wasn’t that hard!

Pondering, Phil eyed my form, “You know? You ain’t bad, kid.”

Grinning, I put my hands behind my head, “Looks like we’re headed for the games!”

“Afraid not.” My hands were fists at my sides.

“Why not?!” I protested.

“Two words,” Phil held up two fingers, “You guys ain’t heroes.”

I swear I heard a mumbled ‘four words’ from Elena.

Phil shrugged, “Wanna become a real hero? Start training.”

With a dejected sigh, I lead the group out of the lobby.

Half way across the courtyard I felt a hand on my shoulder. It belonged to a tall man in a dark grey tunic with blue skin and literal blue flames for hair, “Rather a stubborn old goat, wouldn’t you say?”

“Who are you?” Donald squawked angrily.

“That’s Hades!” Hazel squealed, “God of the underworld! Oh my god! Big fan. Seriously. Big fan. I’d like to-”

Elena, Sylvia, and Kassy all but jumped on her to slap their hands over the eager one’s running mouth.

He chuckled, “Well, well! I knew I was popular!”

Elena grinned weakly with a nervous chuckle, “Yeah...”

Donald’s angry squawking grew louder. Hades faced him, “Whoa, hold there, fuzz boy.” He began pacing back and forth in front of us, “Wait. Let me guess. You want to enter the games, right?”

He put a hand on my shoulder, “Well, then, hey, get a load of this.”

A large beige card appeared in the man’s hand. 

“A pass?” I questioned up at him with bulging eyes and a slack jaw.

“It’s all yours. Good luck, kid. I’m pulling for you, little shorty.” He winked before disappearing in a cloud of dark smoke.

I faced the others, “Um... Should we trust the... god of the underworld?”

Sylvia grinned, “Who cares? Free admission ticket!”

She snatched it from my hands before I could respond and broke into a run back to the lobby. Everyone followed after a short hesitation.


	30. Go For It!

-April 12, 2009-

Sylvia’s POV

I slapped the pass in Phil’s face when we stepped into the lobby. I stepped back with a smirk, arms crossed over my chest. He stared down at it bewildered, “Hey, how’d you get this?”

My eyes narrowed at the suspicious look, “What? You think we forged it? Someone gave it to us!”

The look lingered for a moment before he sighed with a shrug, “Okay, sugar cakes. I believe you.”

Sora grinned, “Can we enter the games now?”

After a moment Phil sighed, “Well... I guess so. We start with the preliminaries!”

The girls waited inside the lobby for the boys to finish. In the privacy between the walls, as much as we hoped for, we discussed battle strategies.

“So, what’re we gonna call ourselves?” I asked after the discussion.

Hazel jumped to her feet, “Oooh! Oooh! I know! Hazel and the Hazelettes!”

I snorted, “Sylvia and the gang.”

“Fabricators.” Elena tossed out thoughtfully.

Kassy grinned, “I like that one!”

I pretended to reluctantly think of it. I crossed my arms over my chest with a dramatic sigh, “I guess...”

Hazel nodded enthusiastically, thrusting out her hand, palm down, “On three!”

I smirked, putting my hand on top of hers, followed by Elena’s and then Kassy’s. One, two, three, “Fabricators!” Just after a high five, Phil walked in, laughing, the boys in tow.

Phil wrote our aforementioned name on the roster.

Something caught my eye, “No fucking way. Sweet Jesus yes!”

Everyone hurried to the board to discover the cause of her joy.

“We get to fight Sora’s group!” Hazel grinned, “Now I know what you mean.”

“Yeah. That’ll determine who fights the man named Cloud.” Phil shrugged, “Fabricators ready?”

“As ready as we’ll ever be.” Chin up, I stared him down for a moment before smirking, leading my shaking companions into the arena.

Hazel stood on the left, large open book in hand. Elena stood to the right, swords in hand, each pointing to the ground on either side of her body. Kassy stood off Elena’s right next to me, hands above the triggers of her guns, each pointing down on either side of her body. I stood to Hazel’s right, holding my staff casually, a smirk on my lips.

Kassy glanced at each gun before looking over at Phil in the bleachers.

“Can I have non-lethal ammo to fight Sora’s group and Cloud?” With a nod, she focused back on the battle.

The battles were a breeze. Finally we faced Sora, Donald, and Goofy. There was a short wish of good luck to and from everyone. Phil blew his whistle.

00000

Goofy had been taken down. Donald was on his last legs. Sora was slowing down. Sora dove for Kassy. Unfortunately as I dove to take him down, Donald sent a jolt of lightning at me. It was such an intense pain that I fell to the ground on my stomach, staff sliding from my hand a few feet.

I attempted to get up on shaking limbs, only to be shot in the lower back by a burst of ice. I fell back to the ground. It wasn’t until the pain subsided that I looked up to discover we had won.

I pushed myself up by my hands only to fall back down from shaking, “Wait, what the fuck? What the fuck happened? Why can’t I fucking move my legs? Why can’t I feel my legs?”

Everyone hurried over. I watched over my shoulder as Donald held his staff over my back. A bright green glow emitted from the area.

When he took the staff away, the glow dimmed to nothing, “There is a slight problem...”

My eyes narrowed, “What the fuck did you and Sora do to me?”

“The electric jolt would have given slight trauma to the body. It would have worn off after awhile with the lack of power I put through. However, when the ice came, it doubled the magic. There is a bit of trauma on your spinal cord. In other words: you’re paralyzed. However!” His hands shot up immediately when I opened my mouth, “I have a spell that can heal it. Or you can let it wear off.”

I huffed, looking away, “I don’t need your help. I’ll fucking wait.”

I heard a slight whimper from Sora, “I-I’m really sorry I didn’t think I could actually hurt you...”

“Quit your whining. I’m fine.” I rolled my eyes at the kick to the head from Elena, “...Apology accepted. There happy?”

Elena rolled her eyes, before scooping me up by the waist, arm around her shoulders. Hazel popped up on my other side.

Kassy sighed as everyone sat on the bleachers, “So, we’re down one member of the team. And Cloud’s our next opponent.”

Sora raised his hand, “Oh! I can help!”

I growled, lying on the bench, “Fuck no he’s not taking my place. You guys go without help or forfeit.”

Kassy put a hand on mine, “No, that’s a good idea! Come on, Syvy!”

I shook my head, “Fuck! No!”

Phil snickered, “Sora, you’re fighting with the girls against Cloud. Thanks for the idea Silver.”

I can’t even describe the sound out of my mouth. But the look of horror on Sora’s face would keep me going in life.

It was that moment that a spiky blond strutted into the arena, an emotionless expression on his face. I snickered, feeling Elena squeezing my hands suddenly with a sudden intake of breath. The girl never stood a chance!

00000

Elena’s POV

I tapped Cloud’s forehead with top of one of my swords, a nervous smile on my lips. The two girls were holding his arms down, Sora’s arms around the blond’s neck. His ocean blue eyes tilted up at me, their surfaced expression mirroring the sudden shock I felt. His black wing, which had been fluttering desperately in his futile attempts to escape, drooped, halting its movements. Both of us let out a small gasp. Cloud recovered first.

Growling, he lowered his head, his bang covering his eyes, “Alright. You win. Get off.”

The girls tightened their grips, “Never!”

He growled once again, “Get off, you insufferable children!”

The girls giggled, although Sora had let go, allowing Cloud to shake the girls off. Jumping backwards, Cloud raised his sword to attack.

Kasandra pushed the girls and Sora, backwards, “Hit the deck!”

An enormous three-headed black canine jumped into the arena, sending a shockwave towards us, knocking everyone to the ground. It slammed its paw down onto Cloud. A sickening crunch echoed, followed by growling.

Kassy fell backwards. Sora scrambled to catch her before she hit the ground. She shakingly got up seconds later. I heard a scream of the blond’s name from my lips.

A large muscular man shoved the beast away.

Phil shouted, “Herc!”

“Phil, get them out of here!” He shouted, throwing Cloud onto his shoulder.

“Hercules! Bring him to us!” I shouted.

Hazel, Sora and Kassy ran to bring Sylvia into the lobby. I followed Donald and Goofy to help Hercules set Cloud against the wall, before the man ran back into the arena.

Sylvia pushed away from the girls, swaying only slightly, “I’m good. I can feel my legs again.”

Donald worked on healing Cloud. After a few moments, he spoke, “He’ll wake up in a bit.

“Come on! We gotta go help Hercules!” Sylvia shouted, leading the group back into the arena.

“I got two words of advice for you: Attack!” Phil shouted before running to safety, Hercules on his tail.


	31. Leap Of Faith

-April 12, 2009-

Elena’s POV

Donald sent one last bolt of lightning at Cerberus. The canine’s eyes slowly closed as he fell heavily to the ground.

It was a slow series of events that took place next. All of us managed to evade the large limbs except for three of us. Sylvia and Sora were the first to react, the rest of us in tow to help remove the leg from Kassy, Hazel, and Goofy.

Goofy was lucky to come away with only a bruised leg. Kassy gasped brokenly and coughed weakly against Sylvia. There came a sudden blood curdling scream from Hazel. Her leg was bent at a very disturbing angle. I held my hand to my mouth to prevent from throwing up.

Poor Donald did his best to heal Kassy’s collapsed lungs with the piercing screams of Hazel close by. Once Kassy was able to breathe properly, he went to work on Hazel’s leg.

“I healed you both, but it might be best not to fight with us for awhile just to make sure.” Donald frowned.

Both girls immediately began protesting. I cut them off, as well as Sylvia who had opened her mouth, “He’s right. In fact I think it’d be a good idea for all of us to rest the night.”

There was a grumbling of discontent through the group before they agreed. Sylvia slipped an arm under Kassy’s legs and around her upper back, hoisting her up. Kassy protested for a moment before sighing and settling into the brunette’s arms. I helped Hazel to her feet. I insisted she lean most of her weight on me just in case. She reluctantly obliged.

All of us made our way into the lobby. Cloud was nowhere to be seen. Phil stepped onto the pedestal, a scroll in hand. Hercules stood by him.

Phil grinned, “So, for your brave assistance today, I have something to bestow on you all.”

Everyone eagerly gathered around. He read from the scroll in an official and loud voice, “-Thus I hereby dub thee junior heroes, and confer upon thee full rights and privileges to participate in the games. Further-”

“Hey!” Donald squawked angrily, “What do you mean ‘junior heroes’?”

The satyr put his hands fists against his hips, frowning down at the duck “You rookies still don’t understand what it takes to be a true hero.”

Goofy tilted his head at that, “So, what does it take?”

“Well, that’s just something you’ll have to find out for your selves. Just the way I did.” Hercules replied with a smile. The image of Megara popped into my mind.

“No problem. We’ll start by proving ourselves in the games!” Replied Sora with a bright grin.

Phil snorted in derision, “There ain’t gonna be any games for awhile. Gotta clean up after that last battle first.”

The spiky brunet nodded, “Okay, we’ll be back.”

3rd Person POV

Phil and Hercules watched the group walk out of the lobby. Phil stroked his beard, deep in thought, “I still can’t believe that squirt actually beat Cerberus.”

Hercules leaned down to speak in a stage whisper, “Just between us, I’d already worn Cerberus down by the time they jumped in.”

“My lips are sealed.” Phil chuckled, “But you know? There’s something I don’t like.” Hercules glanced at him in silent question, “That silver girl... There’s somethin’ fishy... And I got a bad feeling...”

“You’re just paranoid! Quit your worrying!” Hercules smiled. After a moment, Phil smiled back.

Sylvia’s POV

As we approached the World Exit, a spiky blond figure glanced up from his seat on the steps.

“Hey, are you alright?” Sora asked, warily.

“Yeah.” He mumbled. I think Elena just swooned.

“Sure you’re alright.” I drawled sarcastically, “Not like you were stepped on by a giant ass dog and broke something vital. Seriously. I think the next planet over heard that crunch.”

I wasn’t surprised at his silence.

“So... Why did you go along with him, anyway?” Sora frowned.

Cloud began walking forward past us, “I’m looking for someone. Hades promised to help. I tried to exploit the power of darkness, but it backfired. I fell into darkness and I couldn’t find the light.”

“You’ll find it. I’m searching too.” Sora replied encouragingly. 

With a smile, he glanced at Kassy out of the corner of his eyes. However, she was focused on Cloud. I resisted the urge to throttle them both.

“For your light?” He glanced at Kassy and then back at Sora, “Don’t lose sight of it. It might even be right under your nose.”

The blond began walking away. Sora called out to him before he could leave, “Hey! How about a fight with Donald, Goofy, and I sometime? Fair and square, no dark powers involved.”

Stopping, Cloud looked over his shoulder, running a hand through his hair, “I think I’ll pass.”

I glanced at Elena out of the corner of my eye before smirking at Cloud, speaking before I could think through my next words, “We know where Sephiroth could be!”

Cloud immediately advanced on my person. I heard everyone take a step or two back. I smirked, standing my ground, “But you have to come with us.”

His lips curled in a soft snarl, “Where is he?”

I shook my head, “Come with us.”

It was a several calculated moments later that he finally responded with a quiet, “Fine.”

“Glad you see it my way.” I grinned, clapping him none too gently on the shoulder, “Now, let’s head back to the ship. I want some beauty sleep.”

Elena let out a shuddering sigh, following behind me, “Oh, I am so sorry for her. Really.”

Cloud remained silent, only asking quietly which room he would be sleeping in. He disappeared immediately. Silence met the cockpit.

I rolled my eyes in the awkward silence, “Well, goodnight bitches.”

The girls followed close behind, bidding the boys goodnight. As soon as the bedroom door was shut, the back of my head began throbbing.

I rubbed the tender spot, glaring at my ravenette friend, “Da fuck was that for?!”

“Sephiroth? Have you lost your mind?!” She hissed, clenching her fists.

“Hey, it got him to come with us, didn’t it?” I retorted, with a roll of my eyes

“But he’s not even supposed to be here!” Kassy whimpered, “What if it screws  
something up?”

I stripped and dove into the bed, “Quit your worryin’. Nothing’s gonna happen. And hey it’s an extra hand in boss battles. What’s the big deal?”

Elena fumed silently for exactly two minutes before getting ready for bed and lying down on the opposite side of the bed from me. Kassy and Hazel snuggled in between. I don’t think the others slept that night, but I can assure you, I slept like a baby.


	32. Bonding

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Unfortunately, this is a filler chapter, however it includes a bit of character development. And who doesn't love to read Sylvia's antics?

-April 13, 2009-

3rd Person POV

Hades drawled sarcastically at the small hologram in his hand of Hercules, “He’s strong. He’s kind. He’s always there for you, and he’s handsome to boot. He’s perfect. Perfect.”

Red crackled from the blue flames atop his head until it consumed his form, the hologram disappearing, “Perfectly infuriating! He makes me crazy!”

The flames slowly disintegrated to his calm flickering blue, “Wait a minute. What are you worried about? All the pieces are in place. Relax. Here’s what you do. Let Hercules train the kids. In the next games, I’ll take care of them all. The Princesses and the Heartless Maiden will be ours.”

He hissed over his shoulder, “Who invited you to the party? Stay out of this. This is my show.”

Maleficent tilted her head ever so slightly, a careless shrug lifting her slim shoulders, “As you wish. Fight to your heart’s content.”

She disappeared, a bid goodbye to his silent fuming.

Elena’s POV

It was neither early nor late in the morning when I was woken by a scream down the hall. I growled, pushing Hazel onto Kassy before storming out of the room.

“Seriously? I just got to sleep. What hap-” I rolled my eyes at the sight in the kitchen.

Sylvia had an eyebrow raised, a glass of water in hand. Sora stood near the fridge, as red as Ariel’s hair, hands over his eyes.

I took a deep breath, “Evans, did it not occur to you that unlike us, no one else is used to you walking around naked?”

She shrugged, “I was only gonna be a minute. It’s Sora’s fault for being awake at the same time.”

“Hey!” Sora protested, not removing his hands, “It’s not like it’s early! I had every right to be out here!”

I snorted, “He’s right. Go put clothes on, dumbass.”

Sylvia rolled her eyes, walking past us, back to our room, “Whatever. That’s probably more skin then he’ll ever see in his lifetime.”

Sora frowned after a moment, “...Is she gone?”

I snickered, “Yeah. You’re good. Sorry about that. You’ll get used to it eventually. And you don’t have to sleep next to her.”

The red, that had began to recede immediately returned. I clutched the fridge door handle to keep upright, as I was taken over by laughter.

Goofy strolled in with a smile, “Hyuck! I’m glad you guys are happy this morning!”

Hazel skipped in, followed by a stretching and yawning Kassy. The golden brunette stopped in front of the fridge with a wide smile to those in the kitchen, “Breakfast on me!”

Sora blinked, “You can cook?”

My face became blue as I lost the ability to breathe. I slipped to the floor. Tears blurred my vision.

Hazel growled, “Hey! It’s not that funny! Na-Na!”

Still unable to answer, I clawed at the counter to no avail, accepting my fate to lie on the floor through my silent laughter.

“S-Sorry, I didn’t mean it like that...” Sora rubbed the back of his neck, “I love to eat! I’m excited!”

Kassy smiled widely, “Ooh! Make the apple cream cheese crepes! Those are my favorite!”

Two sets of footsteps came down the hall. A quiet slow pair and a heavy fast pair.

Sylvia burst through the doorway with a fuming frown that read murder. Cloud was as calm as can be from behind her.

I raised an eyebrow, standing up with a smirk, “What the hell did you say to her?”

Sylvia hissed, sitting in an empty chair at the table, “It doesn’t matter! The bastard can go fuck himself!”

I snickered, “Now I really want to know what you said.”

“After her display of arrogance while passing my room to the kitchen, I was reminded of her other display at the coliseum. I felt it necessary to speak with her. She didn’t like what she heard. And I-” Sylvia slammed her fist on the table, effectively cutting him off.

“Fuck you, so help me god if you finish.” She snarled at the blond.

I rolled my eyes, “Alright fine. Don’t finish. I’ll ask him later.”

The group fell into an uncomfortable silence. The only sounds heard were breathing, and Hazel cooking. At one point, Hazel and Kassy had quickly escaped, unable to bear the atmosphere from the look on their faces. When everyone had eaten their fill, Donald walked in.

“It’s going to take about a day to find the next world. It’d be a good idea to prepare or whatever you’d like before we get there.” And with that said, he disappeared back through the door towards to cockpit. 

Kassy ran in with a grin, Hazel hot on her tail, “Hey! You guys! Look what I found!” She held up a small package, “I didn’t think there’d be a deck of cards anywhere but there was! Who wants to play a game?”

Sylvia smirked, propping her feet up on the table, and leaning back, “Anyone for strip poker?”

Crimson spread across Sora’s face, “I-I’ve never played poker… And definitely never s-strip poker. I only know how to play go fish.”

She slammed her fist on the table, “You pussy! Then that’s what we’re doing.”

Cloud raised an eyebrow, “And if I refuse?”

I rolled my eyes, “Evans, no one is going to play strip poker with you. Ever.”

Said female curled up with her arms crossed, a pout on her lips, “You’re no fun.”

Kassy smiled shyly, “We can still play regular poker, Syvy…”

Sylvia’s eyes narrowed at the short brunette before shrugging, “Fine. But I’m gonna revel in those who cry when I kick their asses.”

“I suppose you’ll be quite distraught when I win.” All jaws in the room dropped, eyes on Cloud.

Sylvia’s eyes narrowed, “Oh, it’s on.”

Only I had the decency to help Sora through the game. Poor Kassy kept getting distracted when Sora stuck out his tongue slightly in concentration. I resisted the urge to snicker. To everyone’s misfortune, Sylvia didn’t win.

“What the fuck?! You fucking cheater!” She ranted and raved at Cloud. She then proceeded to swipe the cards all onto the floor and stomp out of the room, “Fuck everyone!”

Taking a deep breath, I smiled at the spiky blond, “Congratulations. She needs to be taken down a notch once in a while.”

He shook his head, “Is she always like this?”

Kassy whined, “It’s not her fault! She’s usually better than this I’m so sorry! I’ll go talk to her!”

Everyone began talking about everything and nothing until Sylvia came in holding Kassy’s hand, mumbling a small apology. Kassy beamed, patting her other hand on the taller brunette’s head.


	33. The Crash

-April 14, 2009-

 

Kassy’s POV

 

          It was a less hostile morning. Donald informed everyone there was a world on the radar. All of us hurried to the cockpit to watch the world come closer into view.

 

          Once the world came into view, Sora smiled, “Hey, Donald, maybe King Mickey’s down there.”

 

          Donald snorted, “In a backwater place like that? No way! Let’s move on.”

 

          Sylvia protested, “Now wait just a minute. What’s the problem with trying?”

 

          Sora nodded, “Yeah! Riku and Kairi might be down there. Let’s just check it out!”

 

          Donald shook his head, “Forget it! We’re on an important mission!”

 

          Sylvia growled, “What the fuck?! This quest isn’t all about you, you selfish prick!”

 

          Donald shook his head once more, “We’re not landing!”

 

Sora’s hands clenched into fists, before grabbing the steering wheel with both hands and yanking, “Just land!”

 

Everyone began protesting, worried about crashing.

 

          “No!” Donald squawked, attempting to remove Sora’s hands without wrenching the ship off course.

 

          “You both are idiots! Give me the goddamn wheel!” Sylvia joined in on the fight over the steering wheel.

 

          “Aw, phooey!” Donald spat out.

 

          “We’re landing!” Both Sora and Sylvia shouted. Sylvia reached over and banged her fist onto a big bright red button on the dashboard.

 

          “No!” Donald squawked, attempting to remove Sora’s hands without wrenching the ship off course.

 

          Everything happened quite fast as the gummi ship was sent hurdling in spirals onto the world. My senses went black.

 

Elena’s POV

 

          Why did we even think of letting Sylvia even think of reaching for the wheel? The crash was inevitable, so why did she even bother? She-

 

          “Damn!” Even in the darkness, I could hear Cloud’s frustrated voice.

 

          A scream tore through my lips as pain shot up the right side of my body. I gasped for air, panicking, attempting to move. Why couldn’t I move?!

 

          “Elena! Calm down… I think you smacked a tree on the way down… I’m gonna remove them, okay?” I screamed once more. I could feel tears trailing down my cheeks, burning cuts in their wake, “Ready? One… Two… Three!” Another scream erupted as he ripped a branch from my arm.

 

          My vision swam in and out of focus. He continued to three, ripping another out of my leg. Another scream echoed in the darkness.

 

          “Come on... Hold on... Just one more...” I heard him whisper, “One... Two... Three...” A rasping scream left my lips as he ripped the branch from my side

 

          I felt cold glass touch my lips, “Drink it. It’ll heal you...”

 

          He tilted it slowly. It tasted like play-doh. I gagged more than once as the liquid slid down my throat. He forced me to drink the rest. A few minutes later, he gently sat me upright against one of the rock walls.

 

“Feeling better?” He asked hesitantly.

 

          My vision cleared and I smiled weakly, trying to level my breathing, “Y-Yeah... Thank you...”

 

Standing up, Cloud walked over to the opposite side of the area, taking a handful of broken twigs and branches, and setting them down in the front of me. The spiky blonde grasped two rocks. Fire soon appeared. My breathing evened out, and the pain slowly faded to a dull ache and then to nothingness. Whatever he had coaxed me to drink had certainly done the trick.

 

          “Sylvia had said you guys knew where Sephiroth is. So, where is he?” He asked bluntly.

 

          I expected that question, but not quite this soon. I swallowed thickly, “Um… Well… It’s really complicated…”

 

          His eyes narrowed, “And why is that?

 

          I frowned, “Hey, you’re the one who risked that we could be lying.”

 

          His arms crossed over his chest, an eyebrow raised, “And are you?”

 

          I closed my eyes with a sigh, “Cloud, I’m sorry. I wish things were different. But I have to tread carefully.”

 

          “Elena! Please! I need to find him! Tell me where he is!” His voice was so cold, I felt a bubbling lodge in my throat, tears welling in the corners of my eyes.

 

          “I told you… I-It’s complicated…” I whispered, looking down at my lap to avoid his eyes.

 

“Please... Just tell me...” Cloud whispered, “I need to know if you know something... Anything...”

 

          “Earth...” I mumbled, staring into the fire longingly.

 

          “What? What’s that?” I observed him frowning from the corner of my eye.

 

          “My world. It’s where I’m from. We were taken from it a couple weeks ago...” I smiled weakly at the fire

 

          “I’m sorry…” Cloud frowned, “What was it like? Your world.”

 

          I thought for a moment, “Well… It’s a bigger world than any other you’ve been probably been to. It’s filled with pretty much everything. But… There’s no such as magic there…”

 

          Cloud was quiet for a moment before asking about Sephiroth once more. I took a deep breath. Then another. And another.

 

          The blond let out a small sigh, “Fine. But I will find out eventually.”

 

          I let out a relieved sigh, before yawning. Cloud insisted we spoon for warmth. I protested, tomato colored for a good two minutes before giving in. Sleep warped my senses soon after.

 

_-Dream-_

_3 rd Person POV_

_“Nerd!” “Freak!” “Loser!” The chorus of hurtful names echoed through the halls of school._

_A young Kasandra, Sylvia, and Hazel stood on the side lines with the audience watching the trio of bullies torment young Elena. She looked so helpless on her knees trying to pick up her scattered things, attempting to ignore their words. But she wasn’t fooling anyone. Where were the teachers?_

_Enough was enough. Kasandra stood in front of the fallen female, arms outstretched, “You’ll have to go through me.”_

_Sylvia scoffed, rolling her eyes as she stood next to the chestnut haired female, “If you touch her, you die.”_

_Hazel stood on the other side of Kasandra, holding up a spork of all things, “I’ll spork your eyes out! Don’t think I won’t!”_

_Needless to say, the bullies ran away with their tails between their legs. Kasandra finally spun on her heels to face Elena, “You okay?”_

_“Y-Yeah... Thank you...” She stood up, rejecting Sylvia’s hand to help her up. She began walking away._

_Kasandra stopped her, “Hey, wait! What’s your name?”_

_She faced her shyly, clutching her novels, “E-Elena...”_

_“I’m Kasandra! Kassy for short~” She giggled._

_“I’m Sylvia.” The dark haired girl smirked._

_“And I’m Hazel!” The golden blonde held up her spork, “And this is Freddy! Say hi Freddy!” She glared down at the kitchen utensil, “The hell you will! I’m not talking to you anymore.” She stuffed it in her pocket angrily._

_Elena raised an eyebrow, but said nothing. She protested loudly when Kassy took a hold of her arm and dragged her away, chattering away happily about nothing in particular. The others followed, joining the conversation._

_-End Dream-_


	34. A Confidant

-April 14, 2009-

 

Hazel’s POV

 

          None of my limbs could respond properly as I stared up at the starry night sky. It hurt to move, let alone breathe. I held my breath, turning my head to see Goofy lying upside down against a large flat tree stump in the middle of the bamboo forest surrounding us. I chuckled breathlessly, only to hiss, clutch my side. When I pulled my hand away, crimson dripped from my fingertips. Oh, that’s not good…

 

          As best as I could, I slowly took Freddy the Spork from my pocket, using it to dig into the dirt and drag myself closer to Goofy. I shook his shoulder, calling his name a few times before he regained consciousness.

 

          He yawned of all things, “Is it morning already?”

 

          “Actually… It’s night alread- Ah…” I winced, dizziness making my vision swim. I heard my companion’s muffled cry of my name.

 

          I barely registered Goofy gently propping me up against the tree stump. I felt a cold glass rim touch my lips. I assumed it was just water until the taste of play-doh entered my taste buds. I resisted the urge to gag.

 

          After a few moments, my vision cleared, and the pain disappeared. Goofy let out a sigh of relief, “I’m glad you’re okay! When we find Donald, he can look at ya just in case!”

 

         This worried me slightly as Donald was supposed to be with Goofy. And if they weren’t together, where were he and Sora? And if they were missing? Where were the girls? I mumbled a thanks, looking around the area. Great luck indeed.

 

          “We should build a fire. It’ll be easier to look for the others in the morning.” I shifted to get comfortable. Though I was fine, I still felt very sore.

 

          My canine companion grabbed some stray bamboo and walked over to put the pieces in front of me, only to trip at the last second. The bamboo landed in a perfectly symmetrical pyramid like structure.

 

          I summoned my spell book onto my lap, careful of my healing leg, and sent a small fireball towards the pile. This was one of the stupidest ideas I’ve had yet. With the combination of pain and fatigue, Goofy told me I had passed out for a few minutes.

 

          When I came to, the fire was burning brightly, and Goofy was poking at it with a stick, “You’re okay!”

 

          I grinned sheepishly, “Of course! Can’t keep this idiot down for long!”

 

          The dog let out a hearty chuckle. After our laughter died down, he looked over at me with a look of curiosity, “So, uh, where are you girls from? You don’t look like you were from Traverse Town.”

 

          I thought for a moment. The moment of truth. Do I agree to the unspoken request that things remain a secret? “Kassy, Sylvia, Elena, and I are from a world called Earth.”

 

          “Earth? I’ve never heard of that place.” He scratched his head thoughtfully.

 

          “Maybe it’s on a different plane of existence! Or-” I stopped myself before I could turn into Kassy or Sylvia, “Sorry. Didn’t want to rant about it, but it’s an incredibly big world. Full of everything and… There’s something else…”

 

          “What’s that?” He didn’t look nervous, which made my own nerves calm.

 

          “There’s a reason that the girls are so... informative... and... ‘random’ at times...” I bit my lip. Sylvia was gonna kick my ass when she finds out... “There’s a video game in my world called...” This was the moment of truth. I took a deep breath, “Kingdom Hearts.”

 

          Goofy’s confused expression increased tenfold, “What does that have to do with anything?”

 

          “It’s a very important video game. It is this journey. We know what has happened, is happening, and will happen or the next three to four years.” I looked at the fire, hands shaking, voice cracking, and heart pounding.

 

          “You... Know...? But that could change... Wait. So, what you’re saying is that everything in that game is... Our journey?” I still couldn’t bear to look up at his expression. I couldn’t tell you if he was disgusted, excited, scared, or what.

 

          “Just you, Donald, and Sora technically. The girls and Cloud aren’t supposed to be on this journey. Cloud was supposed to stay on Olympus Coliseum, and we aren’t even supposed to be here at all on this plane. But the heartless came and... Well... Something’s happening. And we don’t know what’s gonna happen now. Anything could... And honestly... I’m scared, Goofy...” There it was. All out in the open.

 

          “That’s... incredible... But that means you’re going to help us the most.” He put a hand gently on my folded hands in my lap, “And we’ll help you as well. We’re in this together. All for one and one for all.”

 

          Tears collected at the corners of my eyes, despite my efforts to hold them back, “All for one and one for all...”

 

          I smiled, shaking my head as if to rid the tears, “King Mickey is just fine. And everything is going to turn out for the best. I just know it. I… I have to believe it.”

 

          He nodded with a chuckle, “Of course! You gotta think positive! Ah-yuck!”

 

          A yawn escaped my lips out of nowhere, “We better rest for the morning. Good night, Goofy.”

 

          He nodded, “Sweet dreams, Hazel.” Rolling over, he immediately began snoring. I smiled at him enviously. I watched the fire dance and crackle under my gaze.

 

          I couldn’t fall asleep. A good amount of time later, Goofy and I were both all but violently shivering even in front of the fire and came to conclusion we needed to spoon in order to conserve body heat.

 

          That had been just what I needed, another presence to finally be able to fall asleep.


	35. Break Down The Walls

-April 14, 2009-

****

Sylvia’s POV

 

          There was a dull pain; a throbbing ache. I opened my eyes with more difficulty than I felt was necessary.

 

          The first thing I noticed was that it was quite dark. What I assumed were bushes were everywhere around us. A large hollow open tree trunk sat to my left. I reached over to Donald, who laid a few feet to my right, shaking him a few times.

 

          Finally, he stirred with a groan, “What… happened…?”

 

          “You made us crash.” I answered, smugly.

 

          “You were fighting with us too! If it’s my fault, then it’s yours too!” He squawked angrily.

 

          “Only because you started it. Whatever.” I rolled my eyes, before changing the subject, “We should start a fire for the night. It’ll be easier to explore in the morning with light. I learned that in summer camp one year.”

 

          Getting the bark off the tree was hell in itself. Eventually we sat in front of a crackling warm fire.

 

          As I laid down on the soft moss covered ground, staring up at the starry night sky, a question popped into my head. It left my lips before I could stop it, “Hey, Donald? Do you think my friends and I’ll get to go back home to our world?”

 

          The ground rustled as he shifted, “Why do you say that?”

 

          With a sad sigh, I closed my eyes for a moment, “I don’t know actually… Just… thinkin’ out loud… I guess…”

 

          He shifted once more, “Well… I think you will. I mean… From what I’ve seen… Something has to happen. Right? All of us will be able to return to our homes after all of this is done.”   

 

          “Right...” I agreed half-heartedly.

 

          Silence.

 

          “Night.” Donald mumbled.

 

          “Night...” I mumbled back with a frown.

 

I opened my mouth to speak again, but decided against it. However, I repeated this several times until, to my surprise, Donald had spoken.

 

          “For Merlin’s sake! What’s on your mind?!” He squawked angrily.

 

          Startled, as I hadn’t been expecting that, I stared at him for a moment before lying through my teeth, “Uh… Um… I dunno… I was just curious… about… yours and Goofy’s lives…” Well, if that wasn’t complete bullshit, then I don’t know what was.

 

          Donald sat up, scooting closer to the fire with narrowed eyes, “If I tell you, you tell me. And if you give me a bullshit answer, so help me you will regret.”

 

          I frowned, a little shaken, “Fair enough…”

         

          With a deep sigh, he began his tale I knew like the back of my hand, “I’m from Disney Castle. And we’re on a mission to find our King. King Mickey. And you?”

 

          Taking a deep breath, I braced myself for his reaction, “I’m from a world called… Earth.”

 

          His eyes narrowed once again, “I was taught and learned about all the worlds. I’ve never heard of Earth.”

 

          I shrugged, “I don’t have an answer for that. Maybe it’s because we’re on a different plan of existence. Heartless are quite powerful, so they musta destroyed the planes that connect them.” I sat up straighter, excited, “Or maybe! Maybe Earth was already on this plane, and just hidden by some higher power. But who could’ve been that powerful? Xemnas? No he’s not that powerful no matter how awesome he is. Ansem wasn’t in existence... Merlin would never do that, and-”

 

          “What the hell are you talking about? And don’t shrug this time. Give me a straight answer.” Donald crossed his arms over his chest.

 

          “Hehe… Straight… Definitely not completely.” I snickered before answering with a serious face and a shrug just to spite him, “I suffer from… Uh… Well… I have issues. My pills are back on Earth.” Not a total lie. Not even close to the truth.

 

          He looked like he believed me, until I burst into uncontained obnoxious laughter. Oops. I smacked a hand over my mouth, but I couldn’t stop.

 

          “Alright alright! Shut up!” Donald squawked loudly before poking the crackling fire a few times. We were silent for a few moments before he spoke up again, “So, what’s this Earth like?”

 

“Uh... Um... It’s, uh... Kinda sorta...” I scratched my head in thought, “Hm... It’s big?”

 

          He gave me a blank look, “...And?”

 

          “And... It’s full of humans and non-talking animals.” I wrapped my arms around my bent legs, resting my head on my knees.

 

          “That’s probably why the heartless attacked your world then. Full of people.” I heard him mumble, “What did you do?”

 

          “What do you mean?” I stared at the fire, trivial memories prancing through my mind of the girls.

 

          “A job or schooling! I don’t know! Give me something to work with! You’re a mysterious stranger! Why should we trust you?” He hissed.

 

          With an increasing frown, I stared at him, throat swelling and stinging at the corners of my eyes. Donald’s eyes suddenly shrank as he began stuttering out an apology.

 

          “I-It’s fine. After all, we are strangers who appeared out of nowhere. And we weren’t even supposed to be on this journey. W-We’re just here…” I rolled over, back facing him, “It’s not like it hasn’t happened before…”

 

          “Sylvia… I’m sorry. It’s just… I’m worried about King Mickey, Goofy, all of us. And you four girls and Sora. You guys are just children. You shouldn’t be out here in what is supposedly a war. And the Heartless? You’ve got your whole lives ahead of you. Things are out of our hands. If there’s anything I can do… I’d like to help.” I refused to turn over so he wouldn’t see my tears trailing down my cheeks. My body shook with the effort not to sob out loud.

 

          I sniffled, forcing myself to answer through my sobs, “W-We k-kno-ow m-mor-re t-than w-we-e l-let-t o-on… B-But-t… T-that-t d-does-sn’t-t m-mea-an w-we’r-re b-bad-d p-peop-pl-le… P-Pl-leas-se… d-don’t-t m-mak-ke it-t h-har-rd-der-r o-on u-us-s… W-we’-re… k-keep-ping-g s-sec-cr-ret-ts-s f-for-r a-a r-reas-son-n…”

 

          Donald sighed softly, “Okay… I trust you… But just because you believe it’s hard to do this on your own, doesn’t mean you have to…”

 

          Without a word, I crawled closer to him and laid my head in his lap, curling up with a frown, tears still not ceasing. I wasn’t sobbing out right, but the whimpers still could be heard. Without prompting, Donald’s feathered fingers gently stroked across my scalp.

 

          The sob began to crescendo because it was just the way mom had done it.


	36. Deep Jungle

-April 14, 2009-

 

Kasandra’s POV

 

          When I had opened my eyes, wondering briefly when I had closed them, I pushed up on Sora’s chest to look around. The treeh-

 

          I screamed, holding my ankle as gently as I could.

 

          Sora sat up slowly with a wince, rubbing the back of his head with a low complaint. Catching my eye, he smiled, “You’re okay!”

 

          I shifted to get my ankle to a more comfortable position with a wince, “N-Not entirely…”

 

          Sora gasped, “Oh no! We need to get you to someone who knows healing!”

 

          “I-It’s fine! I’m fine! Really!” I smiled as reassuringly as I could, “But apparently we were out longer than we thought… Look outside.”

 

          He followed my line of sight to the window. It was nightfall, “I’ll be fine until morning. I’m fine…”

 

          Sora looked sceptical as well as a little angry at my stubbornness. He nodded after a moment before standing up. I looked up at him questionably, until he set down a pile of broken wood in front of me and summoned his keyblade, pointing the tip at the pile.

 

“Fire!” At his command, flames roared to life, bringing a small, warm fire to burn before us.

 

 

          Shivering, I rubbed my bare stomach, happy for the warmth. Wait... “Sora? What am I wearing?”

 

          Blinking, he did a double take, “Uh... Something different?”

 

          Rolling my eyes, I winced once more, “I-I know that! I meant specifics! Give your keyblade. It has better reflection than my guns.”

 

          I touched the long connected blade, only to drop it immediately. Cringing, I cradled my hand to my chest, “Ow! What the…?”

 

          “Are you okay?! Let me see!” Without letting me answer, he dropped to his knees next to me, grasping my wrist gently pulling it towards him.

 

          With a red face, and heart beating fast, I turned my head away not wanting to look at him, “I-I’m fine! Really!”

 

          I could almost hear the frown in his voice, “It’s a bit burnt… I think I might have a few bandages at least for this and your ankle…”

 

          He didn’t let go of my hand as he searched for said bandages. I hadn’t realized how cold I actually was until Sora pointed it out. He then proceeded to wrap his arms around me pulled me to his chest, “That should keep us both warm for the night.” He closed his eyes, resting his head atop mine before mumbling, “I wonder where the others are…”

 

          I curled up closer without a word. I wasn’t really sure what there was to say.

 

          “Hey, Kassy…?” I hummed in question, “You said before that you’re from another world… Can you tell me about it?”

 

          I took a deep breath, “I suppose so. Well like I said before it’s called Earth.”

 

          “Earth…” Sora breathed out, “What’s it like?”

 

          “Where do I start?” I gave a nervous giggle, “It’s very much like your world. But there’s more than just the mainland and play island. It’s so much bigger it’s not even funny.” 

 

          “Like... How big?” He asked in complete awe.

 

          I giggled once more, pausing to wince and rub my ankle very gently, “Makes your play island look like an atom.”

 

          “And you... go everywhere?” Sora gasped.

 

          “Oh god no! I live on an island as well. Well lived.” I shrugged.

 

          He smiled widely, holding me closer, “Amazing…”

 

          “I suppose so. I liked it but sometimes it can be a bit overwhelming at times. Suffocating. Although I don’t think I could have lasted a day on the mainland alone. Sylvia on the other hand probably would have given her right hand for an opportunity to get out.”

 

          I felt Sora frown against my head, “Sounds like Riku…”

          That had me sitting up, realizing that was something he indeed would say, “I-I’m sorry…”

 

          His eyes flashed worriedly, “No no! I’m not mad! I just... It’s just... I...”

 

          I smiled slightly, “I get what you’re trying to say. I think. How about you?”

 

          The chocolate spiked boy tilted his head. I shook my head, my smile widening ever so slightly, “Your life. Tell me about you now.” I cuddled closer to him for warmth. Just warmth, I swear.

 

          “Well... It’s always just been Riku and I... At least for about twelve years... Then one night with a meteor shower... She just appeared.” He added after my fake look of confusion, “Kairi. She always followed us... And I think she figured out that I loved-” He immediately cut himself off.

 

          I giggled and pushed up on his chest, pausing a second to rub my ankle, “You do realize that I already figured out that you’re in love with him right?”

 

          He blushed lightly, “He he... What, uh… What gave it away?”

 

          My smile slowly faded, “I-it’s… Um… You… The way you look at him…?” That lie shouldn’t have been as hard as it seemed.

 

          Sora frowned, “Right…”

 

          I frowned, looking down to avoid eye contact, “I’m sorry, Sora. Things are complicated. I… I can’t tell you some things… Maybe one day… But not now…”

 

          He was silent for a moment. I feared I would begin to cry any moment. Eventually he took a deep breath, “Alright… I understand. It looks like it hurts you to keep it a secret but I’m here for you. Okay?”

 

          Still refusing to look up, I began sniffling. There went the waterworks, “T-Thank you…”

 

          He lifted my head with one hand on my cheek, “I mean it. I don’t want you to suffer alone. But if you feel you have to just know that you’re not alone. No matter what. Will you promise me that? That you’ll never think you’re alone?”

 

          I couldn’t fight the smile through my blurry vision and quiet sobs, “Y-Yes, I promise!”

 

          He smiled widely and wrapped his arms around me once more, tightly pulling me into his chest. Nothing was said. I cried into his chest, the stroking of his hand on my back barely felt.

 

          Time seemed to stop around us. When my tears ceased, and Sora’s breathing slowed to indicate sleep, did I finally close my eyes to accept the darkness waiting.


	37. Stranger Danger

-April 14, 2009-

 

Sora’s POV

 

          There was a pleasant warm weight on my chest when I regained consciousness. Yawning, I shifted slightly before settling with a small smile down at Kassy. She was snoring and muttering something about Sylvia’s waffles being evil.

 

          I snickered as quietly as I could. Although it wasn’t quite enough as her eyes shot open almost immediately. She relaxed not a moment after, yawning and sitting up, cradling her ankle with a slight wince.

 

          “Are you sure you’re okay?” I frowned, worried.

 

          She smiled, “Yeah, I just shifted wrong. I’ll be fine.”

 

          I regarded her for a moment before sighing, letting it go for now, “Maybe we should head out and start looking for others.”

 

          She winced, attempting to stand on her own. I gave her annoyed look, she smiled sheepishly, “Good idea yes, but… Might take a little bit to move…”

 

          I sighed, shaking my hand, holding out my hand for her. Suddenly she gasped, pointing behind and above me, “Look out!”

 

          She all but tackled me, both us sprawling against some broken debris. A fairly large jaguar snarled, slowly stalking closer.

 

          I scrambled to my feet, keyblade in hand, “Hide, Kassy!”

 

          She snorted, using the wall to a standing position, “No way! I’m not leaving you!”

 

          I groaned before charging at the animal. Kassy raised one of her arms gun in hand, “Duck!” I dove under a swipe of its claws just as Kassy pressed the trigger. Three shots connected to its shoulder.

 

          The jaguar slowly moved its head in Kassy’s direction, teeth baring in a deep snarl. She gulped, “Um… The bullets aren’t penetrating… I just made it mad…”

 

          I slashed my keyblade at the creature, only to have it slam me against the wall, I raised my keyblade in defence, eyes squeezing shut.

 

          Only to hear a loud thud and claws against wood. Kassy let out a sigh, mumbling, “Oh thank god. Perfect timing, Tarzan…”

 

          I opened my eyes to see a hunched over man in a leather loin cloth, clashing with the jaguar with a spear. He pushed the creature away. It leaped up the broken staircase and out of the treehouse.

 

          The man turned to us, “Sabor, danger.”

 

          I stood, pulling Kassy up to her feet, letting her use me as support, “Thank you.”

 

          The man tilted his head, repeating the words.

 

          I blinked, “Huh…? Okay… So… What is this place?”

 

          The man nodded, “This place, this place.”

 

          “Okaaay… Where did the others go?” I asked instead. The stranger tilted his head once more.

 

          “Look, we got separated from our friends. Have you seen them? Friiiiiends…” I stressed.

 

          His head perked up, “Friends!”

 

          Finally some progress! “Right, our friends! There’s two of ‘em. The loud one is Dona- You know what? Never mind.” I ignored Kassy’s look of annoyance, “We’re looking for our friends, Riku and Kairi.”

 

          The man tilted his head again, “Look for Riku, friends?”

 

          I nodded with a grin, “Right!”

 

          “Kairi, friends?” He asked.

 

          Something caught my eye behind him. A blurry figure was strolling casually across the room. A familiar redhead, “Uh… Right…”

 

          “Friends here.” The man said.

 

          “Really?!” My head whipped quickly back to him. I was disappointed after a quick glance back that she had disappeared.

 

          The man made a gorilla noise twice and said, “Friends here.”

 

          I gave a weak smile, “Not sure I understand, but show us! Take us to Riku and Kairi!”

 

          The man held his knuckles to his chest, “Tarzan. Tarzan go.”

 

          My grin gained strength, “And I’m Sora. This is Kasandra. Tarzan go, Sora and Kassy go go!”

 

          Kassy cringed beside me, “Really, Sora? That grammar is atrocious.”

 

          I rolled my eyes, “It doesn’t matter! Tarzan, please take us to see our friends!”

 

          Tarzan hopped out the door. I helped Kassy hobble towards the edge. We both frowned as he jumped over the balcany’s edge to the netting below.

 

          Kassy groaned, “Wait, Tarzan!” He climbed back up with another tilt of his head, “I can’t walk or climb. I hurt my ankle.”

 

          Within a blink of an eye he took a hold of her from my arms and put her on his back. He motioned for me to follow him before leaping over the balcony and netting and into the trees below. Kassy’s screams echoed through the canopy.

 

          With a wince and followed the two. We landed on a wide and long winding tree trunk. He began to slide down the surface like a surf board. I followed suit. I could see Kassy shaking on his back. My heart ached.

 

          When we landed on solid ground, I discovered we had landed in a campsite. A human’s campsite, to my relief. He headed into the large tent ahead, “Jane!”

 

          A tall brunette female in a simple white tank top and auburn wrap skirt turned around from fiddling with a camera, “Tarzan! Oh, and who are you?”

 

          I smiled, helping Kassy off Tarzan’s back, “Uh, hi there. I’m-”

 

          The Englishwoman looked surprised, “Oh, you speak English! So, then, obviously you’re not related to Tarzan… Are you here to study the gorillas?”

 

          A man’s voice floated into the tent, “Highly doubtful.” A tall creepy man with a rifle in hand strutted in, follow by Hazel and Goofy.

 

          There was a chorus of happy calling of each other’s names before the man interrupted, “A circus of clowns. Not much use for hunting gorillas.”

 

          “Who you callin’ a clown, ya bag of dicks?” A familiar female’s voice hissed as she made an appearance in the tent.

 

          Kassy squealed, eyebrows furrowing, “Sylvia, no, don’t say that! Oooh…”

 

          Donald popped in beside Sylvia, “Looks like almost everyone is here.”

 

          “I know where I’m going! Stop patronizing me!” Another female’s growl was loud and clear as she threw the tent door flaps open.

 

          “Well, it seems I was incorrect in my assumption, my apologies.” Cloud rolled his eyes beside Elena.

 

          The creepy man growled from the corner he stood, “I stand by my statement. Clowns are of no use for hunting.”

 

          The English woman frowned, “Mr. Clayton, we’re studying the gorillas, not hunting them. This is research.” She let out a deep sigh before addressing the group, “Well, the more the merrier. Do make yourselves at home.”


	38. Having A Wild Time

-April 14, 2009-

****

Kassy’s POV

 

          Sora and Donald stood across from each other, heads turned up and away, arms crossed over their chests. Sylvia rolled her eyes, muttering about how childish they were being.

 

          After a few more heated moments of silence, they had calmed down enough for civility. Elena chose to break the ice.

 

          She jabbed her finger in Tarzan’s direction, “So… What’s his story?”

 

Jane fiddled with a stack of papers on the far table, “Apparently Tarzan was raised by gorillas. Communicating with him still isn’t easy, but he’s learning.”

 

Sora frowned, “So, he was speaking ‘gorilla’ back there…”

 

Sylvia rolled her eyes, muttering, “No you idiot. He was speaking German.”

 

I smacked her arm. She mumbled an apology. Jane turned to face us, “Ah, that’s right! You’re looking for your friends?”

 

Our spiky brunet friend nodded, “He said Riku and Kairi are here. And one word I couldn’t understand.”

 

          The Englishwoman smiled, walking over to her camera, “Why don’t we try this? We’ll show Tarzan some slides and see if any of them match that word. Oh, what happened to the slides?”

 

          Her brow furrowed as she fiddled with the camera. Sora volunteered to run outside to find them. I shifted my weight onto my injured leg, forgetting momentarily the pain.

 

          I immediately crumpled to the ground. Sylvia hissed, all but diving to my side, “That fuck did he do to you?!”

 

          A scrambled cry tore from my lips as she accidently pressed down on my ankle in attempt to balance on her knees, “I-I’m fine! I hit it on the way down from the crash! I swear!”

 

          Donald held up his staff before a green glow surrounded my ankle, “Heal!”

 

          The pain dissipated immediately. With a quick thanks to Donald, I was able to stand on my own, having to push Sylvia away to end her insistent mothering.

 

          Sora ran back in, “They were everywhere. I could only find six of them.”

 

          Jane shook her head, taking to slides and putting them into the camera, “Oh no, that’s all of them. Thank you.”

 

          The first slide was of a man on his knees holding a bouquet of flowers to a woman facing away from him. The second was of a man on his knees holding up a small female toddler. The third slide was of a gorilla. The fourth was of two men in fencing positions. Sylvia smirked. I rubbed my left side, remembering a particular sparring match. The fifth slide was of a large ship. The sixth slide was of a familiar castle. Sora frowned.

 

          Goofy noticed, “What’s wrong, Sora?”

 

          Sora snapped out of his daze, “What? Um… Nothing.”

 

          I put a hand on his shoulder with a reassuring smile. He responded back in turn with a weak smile.

 

          Jane turned to face Tarzan crouched in the corner, “Well, Tarzan?”

 

          Sora impatiently cut in, “Where are our friends? Riku and Kairi?”

 

          The man shook his head with a sad and confused frown.

 

          “Hey, I thought-” Clayton interrupted the spiky brunet.

 

          “That leaves just one place. Young man, we’ve been in this jungle for quite some time now. But we have yet to encounter these friends of yours. I’d wager they’re with the gorillas. But Tarzan refuses to take us to them.” He scoffed, his back turned to his.

 

          Jane’s brows furrowed in worry, “Really, Mr. Clayton. Tarzan wouldn’t hide-”

 

          Clayton interrupted once more, “Then take us there! Take us to the gorillas. Go-ril-las.”

 

          Tarzan slowly nodded. Jane’s brows furrowed again, “Tarzan… Are you sure?”

 

          “Tarzan go see Kerchak.” The man responded.

 

          “Kerchak?” Jane repeated.

 

          “He must be the leader. Perfect. I’ll go along as an escort. After all, the jungle is a dangerous place.” Clayton’s lips curled into a dangerous smirk.

 

          Sylvia rolled her eyes, “Oh please. I could wipe the floor with your ass.”

 

          Elena threw a hand to her forehead, “Will you ever learn to keep your mouth shut?”

 

          Hazel shrugged, “Do you really have to question it anymore?”

 

          With one last quick heal from Donald, the group follow Tarzan through the dense jungle and climbing up a patch of vines.

 

          When we reached the top of the tree tops, Tarzan jumped ahead, speaking to a large black gorilla.

 

          Sylvia and I muttered the translation under our breath, careful for the boys not to hear. Although after there was a long pause, we immediately had to look confused when everyone began looking at each other.

 

          Kerchak glared at the group before looking worriedly in a different direction. Tarzan led us away and took us to the treehouse. I noticed it was nearly sunset. The familiar cocking of a gun echoed through the air. Donald ran ahead faster than the rest of us, “No!” Clayton missed.

 

          Donald squawked angrily, “What’s the big idea?!” Tarzan cried urgently towards the top floor of the tree house. Kerchak turned away and disappeared out of the treehouse.

 

          “You don’t understand. I was only trying to... Ah. A snake slithered by, you see. I saved that poor gorilla’s life.” Clayton smiled nervously. Tarzan shook his head.

 

          Back at the tent, Sylvia was all too happy to explain things. And Jane was livid, “How could you do such a thing?!”

 

          Clayton lied through his teeth once more, “Now, Miss Porter, as I told you, I was not aiming at the gorilla.”

 

          She would have none of that, “You are not to go near the gorillas again!”

 

          “All because of one mishap? Come, now...” His smile faded with matching glares and angry stances from all of us. He stormed out of the tent. A few minutes later we heard a gunshot.

 

          Everyone ran out to investigate. Blue and yellow monkeys appeared in clouds of darkness. Sora gasped, “Heartless!”

 

          We fought our way through the jungle, rescuing gorillas along the way. Hazel, Elena, and I began to slow down, our injuries acting up.

 

          When we arrived back at the tent, Jane was nowhere to be found. Sora frowned, “Hey, where’s Jane?”

 

          Goofy turned to our gorilla-like friend, “What’s wrong, Tarzan?”

 

          Tarzan sniffed the air, “Something coming. Jane, danger. Jane near… Near treehouse!”

 

          “Sounds like trouble. Let’s go.” Donald frowned.


	39. Holy Bananas

-April 14, 2009-

 

Kassy’s POV

 

          The girls, minus Sylvia, all but limped after the others, protesting and stubbornly ignoring their insistent pleas to rest and/or stay behind.

 

After a short battle, we free Jane and Terk from their vine prison on one of the upper platform-like tree trunks, “Clayton came to the tent, and… That’s the last thing I remember.”

 

Sora frowned, “Clayton?”

 

Tarzan frowned as well, “Gorillas trapped. Terk ran.”

 

“We must help the gorillas!” Jane explained.

 

Sylvia nodded before anyone else could speak, “We heard a gunshot near the camp, so let’s go back that way.”

 

Everyone trudged back to the camp. I frowned, looking up at the darkening sky, “Syvy… It’s getting darker…”

 

She smirked over her shoulder, “Afraid of the darkness? Come on, Kassy. I thought you were stronger than that.”

 

“That’s not what I meant. It’ll be easier if we get some sleep.” My frown deepened. She wasn’t taking me seriously.

 

Cloud spoke up behind us, “I agree. We can take watch shifts.”

 

With a unanimous agreement, we continued back to the campsite. The tent wasn’t too big, though thankfully wasn’t too small. Tarzan and Cloud offered the first watch.

 

It was thankfully an uneventful night for everyone on each shift. The next morning we took only a few moments to gather ourselves before we headed out of the tent. A loud growl came from the thicket of bamboo ahead. We raced to the source of the sound before being ambushed by Sabor. With the nine of us, it didn’t take long for his defeat. The jaguar’s eyes slowly closed. I felt a bit sick.

 

I felt a hand on my shoulder, "You okay, Kass?"

 

I smiled weakly at Sylvia until it fell. The effort was too much, "I-I don't know..."

 

"That's good then. You're staying back at the camp for this fight." I gasped.

 

"No! Y-You can't do this! I'm fighting with you! I'm not staying behind!" Why was she doing this?!

 

"You're staying behind, Kassy, and that's final." She looked over her shoulder, "That goes for you too, Hazel. Elena."

 

“Ah, hell no!” Elena growled, “Why would I listen to you? Besides, I’m not injured! I can still fight!”

 

Hazel protested as well, “I can still fight! I’ll sit out when I’m dead!”

 

“You guys are staying behind and that’s final!” The environment around us began to grow darker.

 

“Sylvia, you can’t do this to me! I have to experience this! You can't take this away! I won't let you do this to me!" I felt colder.

 

Elena’s POV

 

“I will protect you if it’s the last thing I do!” Sylvia’s voice began to double with another woman’s.

 

“I don’t need your protection! I never needed your protection!” Kassy’s voice doubled with another woman’s as well.

 

Something was wrong. And it was getting out of control, “Guys. You need to calm down.”

 

As they continued arguing about protection, the air grew darker and colder. Sylvia’s eyes began losing color until they were as white as snow. Kassy’s eyes began to lighten until they were a glowing yellow. The color of the eyes of a Heartless.

 

"I said calm the fuck down!" Honestly, I began panicking at this moment.

 

Cloud brought each hand down onto the girls’ necks, effectively knocking them out.

 

I blinked at the spiky haired blond for a moment, “That works too.”

 

Sora gently picked up Kass bridal style. Cloud threw Sylvia over his shoulder none to gently. Sora turned to the group, “Um… Did anyone notice their-”

 

I cut him off rather rudely but I really had no energy to care, “No. You’re not the only one. This is bad. Someone needs to stay and help Hazel watch them.” I glared at said female who dared open her mouth. She shut it with a glare of her own.

 

“Good.” Cloud smirked, “You’ll be staying behind with them then.”

 

“No. No I’m not. You’re the one who was able to shut them up successfully so you should be the one who stays." I growled. How dare he play this game with me?

 

"You're their best friend. If they're still in that state when they awake, you can talk them out of it. I know you can." He murmured.

 

Feeling a light blush creep onto my cheeks, I groaned, "Ugh... Alright... Fine. I'll stay. Only because I know how pissed Sylvia will be when she wakes up. And I’m the only one on Ear- uh… er… only person who knows how to calm her down when she’s being her regular self." I returned the small smile on Cloud's lips, albeit shyly.

 

He dumped Sylvia onto the ground roughly. I snorted. The male walked out of the tent. I followed him to the entrance, "Be careful, Cloud." He nodded. I turned and headed into the tent.

 

Sora came into the tent with a chattering Hazel on his heels. He set Kasandra down gently next to Sylvia and brushed a few hairs away from her head softly, a loving smile on his lips. Well that would sure be used as blackmail.

 

Hazel giggled, "Get going, lover boy!"

 

He protested loudly with a dark blush, but Hazel repeated herself and ushered him out the doorway. The boys’ footsteps faded away after a few minutes.

 

Hazel sat next to me and watched our fallen friends for a moment before turning to me, “So... What the fuck was that?”

 

“Don’t know. My current theory is something triggered the maidens taking control. And… Sorry to both of them, but… I don’t trust either of them to keep control. I don’t know what we’re going to do?” Neither of us had an answer.


	40. Losing Control

-April 15, 2009-

 

Elena’s POV

 

          A loud scream tore itself from Kassy’s lips out of nowhere, surprising both Hazel and I. Sylvia was still out cold. I gripped Kassy and pulled her to my chest, stroking her hair with shaking fingers, chanting ‘it’s alright’ to attempt to calm her down.

 

          Tears trailed down her cheeks, her screams lessoning in volume, but not silencing completely, “Too high... Too high...”

 

          “Why would she have that dream of all things?” Hazel frowned.

 

          I shrugged my shoulders as best I could, “I think it could have triggered anything. I think she’s lucky it was just the dream.”

 

          “The nightmare.” Sylvia corrected, sitting up with a wince, “Who hit me?”

 

          I continued stroking Kassy’s head gently until she’d been reduced to quiet sobs. Hazel answered her, failing to hide her smile, “Cloud.”

 

          “He’s dead then.” She frowned in my direction, “What happened?” Hazel explained everything and by the end, Sylvia looked ready to explode from anger, “THEY LEFT WITHOUT ME?!?!”

 

          “That is not the issue here!” I hissed, halting my hand movements. I felt Kassy tense, so I continued until she relaxed once more.

 

          “Right. The eye thing... It sounds like we’re getting power! That’s so cool!” She grinned madly.

 

          I glared darkly at her, halting completely and ignoring Kassy tensing, “You can’t be serious? This isn’t a game, Sylvia!”

 

          She shrugged not looking apologetic in the least, “Believe what you will. We’re perfectly fine! None of us are dead! And we’re not GONNA die. And if we’re getting cool powers like that how is that a bad thing? You make think things are going badly, but you’re just jealous Kassy and I are getting cool powers and are important right now. So you’re making up this bullshit to get me to back off. Well, I’ve got news for you! Knowledge isn’t everything. You may think you’re in charge around here but you’re not. So, get the fuck off your high horse!”

 

          My eyes narrowed further, “That’s what you think? Of me? Of everything?”

 

          I barely registered as Hazel took Kassy from my lap, “Guys, Let’s just think calmly about this…”

 

          Ignoring her, I spat in Sylvia’s direction, tears burning in the corners of my eyes “Well, then. You’re an even bigger idiot than I gave you credit for. Ever since we’ve arrived in Traverse Town, you’ve decided you’re invincible and everything you do is without consequence. But think for a second, or is your brain incapable of such a chore?”

 

          A smirk curled across her lips, “Idiocy? That’s weak. Even for you, Janele.

 

          Hazel spoke up once more, “Guys, come on! You’re being stupid!”

 

          I ignored her, “Are you comparing yourself to me? Are you saying I’m stupid like you?”

 

          “Maybe I am, maybe I’m not. You like riddles don’t you?” Her words dripped off her tongue like poison.

 

          “Stop spewing bullshit, Evans. You can’t seriously believe you’re smarter than me?” I hissed.

 

          “I don’t believe. I know.” She gave a short, cropped answer.

 

          “You’re living in a fantasy world! Snap out of the bullshit you think you’re the queen of. Look around! Look what’s going on! And we’ve only been here for like a week!” I was about ready to pull my hair out.

 

          “BOTH OF YOU STOP THIS!” All eyes turned to Hazel whose eyes burned with a dark fire. Kassy was shaking in her arms.

 

          My gaze of hurt and sorrow fell on Sylvia silently. Hers matched with a hint of anger in her- “Sylvia… Your eyes… They’re… They’re turning white!” Not entirely, but they were flickering between her silver eyes and snow white. After a moment they settled, a few shades lighter than they had been before.

 

          Hazel grabbed the nearby hand mirror on Jane’s table. Sylvia gasped, face turning ashen. She was actually scared of this, “They really are…” She frowned, looking away, “I-I’m… I’m sorry… For… what I said…”

 

“I am too. Actually. You know what? I’m not.” Her lip jutted out in a deep pout, “I think we needed that. I mean… We’ve kinda been optimistic since we’ve arrived. Anger and/or hatred had to come into the picture sometime. Right?”

 

          Hazel nodded after a moment, “I think she’s right.”

 

          Sylvia grinned sheepishly, “Isn’t she always?”

 

          I smiled for the few moments before Sylvia began snickering. She choked out an explanation, “Anger and hatred? Ring a bell?” No answer, “Mansex!” This broke the awkward tension. Mostly.

 

          Kassy, only shaking slightly, sat up straighter, letting go of Hazel, “Wait, Syvy. What are we gonna do about your eyes?”

 

          Sylvia’s face grew dark, “Forget mine. I think we need to worry about you.”

 

          Everyone stared intently. Kassy flinched under our gazes. Her eyes were turning yellow. It was the same thing as Sylvia. Her eyes flickered between golden and chestnut until settling a few shades more golden than her normal eyes.

 

          Kassy gripped her face, fingertips digging into her eyebrow bone, with one glance in the mirror, “No no no please! Something’s wrong!”

 

          I put a both hands on her shoulders, “Hey, calm down! We’re gonna figure this out! Please, Kass, be strong!”

 

          She sobbed, tears streaming from below her hands, “I don’t want to be a Heartless! This wasn’t real! I said it before it was just a game! I don’t wanna die!”

 

          Sylvia wrapped her arms around her waist, murmuring into the back of her hair, only able to hear from being so close, “Hey, I promise we’re gonna fix this. You can trust me. I won’t let anything bad happen to you. Kassy, I promise.”

 

          Hazel took both of Kassy’s hands gently away from her face, holding them close to her chest, “We’re here for you, Sy-Sy. We’re all here for each other. No matter what”

 

          We stayed wrapped in each other’s arms for a long time. We lost track of time. It wasn’t until we heard the boys come back that we were able to let go.

 

          Sylvia rudely brushed off everyone’s questions about both of their colored eyes. Sora was unable to avoid a punch to the face. She attempted another to Cloud who evaded easily. The two fell into a scrap, ending with Sylvia face down in the dirt, screaming angrily for quite awhile.

 

          Soon, we found our way back to the fallen gummi ship. Sylvia stomped to her room without a word. Hazel, Kass, and I followed.


	41. Deliberation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Points to those who figure out the different fandom reference I put in!

_-_ April 16, 2009-

 

Elena’s POV

 

          When morning broke, it was evident that no one had slept that night. It was so silent and tense you felt like you were drowning. It was almost a collective robotic movement as everyone ate breakfast.

 

          Reluctantly Donald spoke through the negative environment, “We’re heading back to Traverse Town to make sure there’s no permanent damage to the gummi ship and we can continue our mission. It’s going to take about a day to get back but hopefully it’s just going to be a smooth ride.”

 

          Sylvia dropped her spoon into her cereal bowl with narrowed eyes, “Are you fucking with me? I wouldn’t have left my bed if I knew this was gonna be a day off!” She all but threw her dishes into the dishwasher of the kitchen and stormed down the hall.

 

          I felt bad for Donald who winced and continued eating slowly. No one made eye contact. This was just great. I motioned for Kassy and Hazel to follow as I put my dishes away and lead the two to our room.

 

          Sylvia was sitting on the bed, arms wrapped around her raised knees, her head buried in the middle.

 

          I combed through the side table drawer, grabbing a pad of paper and a pen. I sat on the bed, staring down my confused friends. Even Sylvia had looked up, interested.

 

          “Alright, so here’s the plan. We’ve been here for two weeks. We need to figure out what the hell is going on. Let’s brainstorm.” I focused my gaze on Hazel, “Let’s start with you. What happened after you went comatose?”

 

          Sylvia protested, “Why her first? Bitch, my story is better!”

 

          I snorted, secretly relieved she was back to her old self, “I have the pen: I’m in charge. Ah ah!” I held the pen away from her grabbing hands, “Hazel first. Then you.”

 

          She pouted, and settled back into all of the pillows, not leaving any for the rest of us. Not that I cared, “Alright, Hazel, what’s your story?”

 

          She relived the tale of her adventure. I scribbled notes throughout. Kassy put a hand to her chin in deep thought, “So, Hook’s crew knew Sage’s mom? What do you think happened?”

 

          Hazel shook her head, “He didn’t say. And I didn’t ask. I was a little preoccupied with being there in the first place. Now I’m feeling I should have. If… If Kingdom Hearts is real… Why would she not have told me?”

 

          “Same thing with me!” Sylvia sat up excited and immediately launched into her own telling of her adventure, “I wanna know if her mom and mine were partners in crime or something!”

 

          “Hm… I’m concerned more with something else.” I mumbled, staring down at the notes in my hand.

 

          Kassy put a hand on my foot with a smile, “It’ll be okay!”

 

          I frowned, looking back up at my friends, “That’s just it. I don’t know if it will be. What of these Maidens? Who are they? The original maidens… Who were they? And what do they have to do with us? And what do your moms have to do with this?”

 

          Sylvia rested her chin on her knees, hands bouncing her feet up and down slightly, “Darkness and Heartless… And are they bad? If this thing with our eyes is dangerous we need to find out if things could go wrong…”

 

          I immediately glared at her as soon as I heard Kassy start to hyperventilate. Hazel dragged her into her arms, calming her down more easily, “Must you have no warning for negativity? This needs to be an informative session, not a turnout for breakdowns.”

 

          Sylvia’s eyes blazed, “Hey, I am being informative! Even realistic! We have to consider the idea of this being dangerous even I know that!”

 

          Hazel sighed, stroking Kassy’s hair, “She’s right you know… Hey! I know!”

 

          Everyone glared at her use of a dramatic pause, “Oh, you guys don’t have a sense of humor. I know who we should talk to! Merlin!”

 

          “That’s right!” Kassy exclaimed, with a wide grin, “And he’s our next stop! After Deep Jungle is the second trip to Traverse Town remember?”

 

          Sylvia put her hands behind her head, settling back into the pillows, “You think he’ll have the answers? I thought this game was really insistent on riddles and shit. Are we really sure we’ll get a straight answer?”

 

          I sighed, “We have to try. I bet King Mickey would have the answers. But there’s gonna be no time to ask him when Riku, him, and Sora close the door later.”

 

          Kassy deflated in Hazel’s arms at the mention of Riku. Sylvia immediately sprung on her, sitting up and leaning forward towards the brunette, “Speaking of the silver ass, you didn’t tell us what happened with Alice.”

 

          Her eyes blazed for a moment before she turned her gaze away, “He came through a darkness portal and got Alice. End of story.”

 

          Sylvia snorted, “Bullshit. Try again.”

 

          She held her ground for a moment before sighing her defeat. She told the tale in more detail, “And I told you I was telling the truth. I didn’t know how I made the portal myself. One minute I was sitting there wishing I could sneak out to help you guys fight, the next I was surrounded by darkness. I tried to find my way out and next thing I knew I was falling. And I fell on Sora.”

 

          “And what of the shadow Heartless?” Sylvia’s eyes narrowed further.

 

          “Well… It first happened on Destiny Islands…” Kassy relived her time on the island, “Something is happening and I’m scared.”

 

          I ran a hand through my hair, and finished writing, “We all are Kass. And I’m thinking for you, that you’re somehow leaking power to control the Heartless…”

 

          Sylvia grinned, “That’s fucking sweet! Can you summon one right now?”

 

          I smacked the back of her head, “You’re an idiot. This could potentially be a bad thing. Which we won’t let happen. Right girls?”

 

          Lightened silver eyes rolled, “Of course! You fucking stupid or something? Merlin should help and if not we’ll figure something else out. Hollow Bastion Library! Maleficent probably has something do with the Heartless Maiden. She’ll know something!”

 

          Kassy let out a shuddering breath, quietly whispering, “I hope so…”

 

          Sylvia laid back down in her nest of pillows, “I don’t know about you guys but I’m buying alcohol when we get to Traverse Town. I’m gonna need it.”

 

          Hazel stole a pillow from under her, “You don’t _need_ it, you need an AA meeting.”

 

          Sylvia pouted, “Bitch.”

 

          “Jerk.” She grinned.

 

          Arguments turned to games and laughter. A relief from the horrible times we’ve had. Maybe things would be okay after all. We could only hope.


	42. Don't Ignore This

-April 17, 2009-

 

Elena’s POV

 

          It was early the next morning when we arrived at Traverse Town. Sylvia was a decent human being, not antagonizing anyone. She was almost vibrating when we stepped through the door. She glanced to her left past the café. I raised an eyebrow at her. She shrugged and hurried further ahead to a familiar face near the stairs.

 

          The ninja smiled as the group approached, “Hey guys! Glad you’re back! You might wanna go see Leon. He’s in the underground cavern in the alleyway of the Second District. He’s usually training down there! Doesn’t have a fun bone in his body!”

 

          Sylvia snickered, “Squall’ll come around! You’ll see!”

 

          “Let’s hope… so…” Everyone turned to the object of her horrified stare.

 

          Cloud stiffened at the quiet whisper of his name. She smiled a soft smile, “…Glad to see you’re alive and well.”

 

          “…You too.” He nodded stiffly, “You too.”

 

          It was a tense silence before Sylvia took the initiative to lead the group to the second district alleyway. We were forced to swim through the small river and up to the rock bed Aerith and Leon resided.

 

          You could feel the ice emanating from Cloud behind us, “Aerith…”

 

          Aerith gasped and faced us, “C-Cloud…!”

 

          The sword in Leon’s hand slipped, falling with a splash a few feet away. He spun around to face us with the greatest look of shock I’ve ever seen. He whispered the blonde’s name. It echoed loudly throughout the cave.

 

          I felt like we were intruding. Discretely, I ushered the other boys to the side of the cave. Aerith, Leon, and Cloud stood still.

 

          “…Squall… It’s been awhile…” Cloud smiled weakly.

 

          “…I-It’s Leon now…” He mumbled.

 

          “…You’ll always be Squall to me.” I almost didn’t catch it, he was so quiet. By the look on Leon’s face, he caught it.

 

          Aerith gently put her hands to her chest, “Cloud… It’s good to know you’re safe…”

 

          “You too, Aerith…” His smile fell.

 

          Leon stiffened and began walking past Cloud. However, as soon he set one foot in the water, Cloud gripped his arm, “You can’t possibly be ignoring what happened?”

 

          “I think I have a right to ignore it. Not after everything.” His eyes narrowed. The girls exchanged a look. Sylvia shoved a hand over Sora’s mouth with a quiet hiss of warning.

 

          “I’ve apologized so many times I’ve lost count. Please…” He whispered so quietly I almost missed it, “I love you…” Everyone gasped.

 

          I blinked once and Cloud was on the ground holding his cheek with a pained expression. Leon dove into the water and swam away.

 

          Everyone was silent inside the underground cavern. No movement. Sylvia couldn’t take it anymore, “Did… Did we just witness a Cleon moment?”

 

          Kassy smacked her arm only to be ignored. I ran over to Cloud with a frown, kneeling down next to him. I cautiously put a hand on his arm. He turned away, shrugging it off. I sighed, looking down at my hands in my lap.

 

          Aerith smiled down sadly at Cloud, “Can we do anything for you, Cloud?”

 

          “There’s nothing you can do. Don’t worry.” He closed his eyes, pain twisting his features.

 

          “…Alright, Cloud. We’re here for you, though. Please know that.” Her smile fell, eyebrows dipping in worry.

 

          Sylvia grumbled under her breath, “God… Don’t be such an ass to Aerith…”

 

          My eyes flashed angrily up at her, “What the hell are you doing?!” I scrambled to my feet, shoving a finger roughly to her chest, “Did you actually not comprehending what just happened?!”

 

          Rolling her eyes, she smacked my hand away, “Calm the fuck down, ‘Lena. You and I both know I could have been a lot worse.”

 

          “That’s not the point and you know it!” I yanked at my hair, “You’re an idiot! Would you learn to be mindful of other peoples’ feelings, you heartless bitch?!”

 

          To my surprise, she laughed, “Heartless bitch... That’s a good one...”

 

          A felt a smile crawl onto my lips despite my anger, “Shut up! This isn’t supposed to be funny!”

 

          Cloud stood with a shake of his head, “I’m not needed here anymore and I’m not ready to face Squall right now. Come find me when we’re ready to leave.”

 

          Donald shook his head, “We’re actually going to stay the night and resume travel in the morning.”

 

          Aerith held out a bunch of keys, “Here. There are four rooms in the hotel, make yourselves at home.”

 

          Cloud took one of the keys with a small grateful smile, “Thank you…” He dove into the water and swam away.

 

          Aerith frowned, turning to us, “You’ll be okay right?”

 

          Kassy’s eyes widened, upset that she had been worrying her, “Of course, of course! We’ll all be okay! Including him! You don’t have to worry!”

 

          “I believe you.” She smiled with a nod, “You should find Cid. I think he wanted to see you.”

 

          Sylvia grinned immediately diving into the water and kicking away. The others soon followed. Sora and Hazel ran and canon balled into the water, swimming after Sylvia. Goofy and Kassy dove in after them. Donald and I calmly walked in, following close behind.

 

          When we stepped out of the sewer that was cleaner than it should have been, Kassy tugged on my wrist with a large smile.

 

          She motioned with her hand to my whole self. I looked down to see my clothes had changed to a navy neckless top with crossed over plum straps over my chest and off shoulder black short sleeves. Navy capris clothed my legs, a plum skirt draping down to mid-thigh with a large split up the left side, pinned by a black heart buckle. On my hands were fingerless gloves –the right in plum, the left in navy- to my elbows, black hearts placed at the top. A black choker wrapped around my neck with a navy heart resting in the middle.

 

          After admiring for a minute or two, Sylvia led us through the courtyard and in through a stained glass window covered door. We found Leon in the front entryway, petting two adult Dalmatians, puppies scattered about the room.

 

          I bit my lip, debating whether I wanted to go over to him or not. Sylvia, the bitch, decided to end my internal debate for me, shoving me towards him.

 

          I managed to just avoid one of the puppies as I fell to my knees beside him. Kassy immediately dragged Sora to a different corner, cooing over a group of puppies.

 

          Leon glanced up for a moment before continuing to pet the dogs. One of the puppies jumped onto my lap. I smiled, cooing over his cuteness.

 

          After a few moments, he stood up, holding his hand out, pulling me to my feet. He turned to the group. Kassy and Sora hurried closer, puppies in hand, “So, you found the keyhole?”

 

          Sora nodded, avoiding one of the puppies tongues with a smile, “The Keyblade locked it automatically.”

 

          The older brunette nodded, “Good. Every world among the stars has a Keyhole. And each one leads to the heart of the world. There must be one in this town as well.”

 

          Sora attempted not to look confused. Sylvia rolled her eyes, “Ansem’s report, idiot. The Heartless enter through the Keyhole and do something to the world’s core.”

 

          Leon nodded, “That’s right.” I wasn’t surprised that he didn’t think it strange she knew about him. I suppose it had to do with the Darkness Maiden.

 

          “What happens to the world?” Sora asked with a worried frown.

 

          “In the end, it disappeared.” She couldn’t fool me with a somber tone and expression. She was so excited to quote something.

 

          Sora, Donald, and Goofy’s eyes widened, “What?!”

 

          “That’s why your key is so important.” Leon continued, “Please lock the Keyholes. You’re the only one who can.”

 

          Sora mumbled so low I almost missed it, “I don’t know...”

 

          “Seeing other worlds would probably serve you well.” He added.

 

          Donald perked up at this, “Yeah!”

 

          Goofy nodded, “We gotta find your friends! And King Mickey!”

 

          Sora nodded after a moment, “I guess you’re right... Okay!”


	43. Careful Steps

-April 17, 2009-

 

Elena’s POV

****

          “Oh!” Donald exclaimed suddenly, pulling out the colorful block from Deep Jungle, “This gummi block is different from the others. Do you know what it’s for?”

 

          The brunette eyed it silently for a moment before shaking his head, “Ask Cid. He should know.” The duck nodded and led the boys towards the door. The girls stood still, waiting for a moment for Leon to stop us, “Wait. Take this with you.” I took a small stone from him, “This stone holds some mysterious power. I’ve been carrying it for luck. I want you to hold onto it.”

 

          Sora tilted his head, trying to look over my shoulder, “How do you use it?”

 

          I giggled as Leon shrugged, passing by us, exiting the house. Donald led us out the door and back to the first district, into Cid’s shop. Sylvia grinned and screamed his name.

 

          “What? Hey! If it ain’t Silver!” Cid grinned, “Guess you found your friends then!”

 

          “Most of them, Gramps,” She ignored his angry remarks with a smirk, “But here. Leon said you’d know what this is.” She snatched the gummi block from Donald, setting it on the counter.

 

          “What’ve you got there?” Cid turned it over in his hands a few times, “Well, if it ain’t a gummi block!”

 

          “What’s this one for?” Sora asked eagerly.

 

          Cid’s eyes widened almost before Sora had finished his question, “You’re kiddin’ me! You’re flyin’ a gummi ship and you don’t know nothin’ about-”

 

          Sylvia rolled her eyes, “Hold your horses, Gramps. Some of us DO know what it is.”

 

          Cid nodded with a smug, almost proud look, “A’right then. If ya say so.”

 

          Sora smiled at Sylvia, “You know about this stuff? That’s awesome!”

 

          She smirked, “Or it’s easy as fuck and you’re an idiot.”

 

          I smacked the back of her head, “Don’t be rude. Or a show off about something you know nothing about. Seriously, Sora. Don’t listen to her. She actually has no idea what she’s talking about. Ever.”

 

          Sora frowned, uncertainly. Kassy grabbed his hand, squeezing it with a smile. I snorted as a light red crossed his cheeks, a small smile appearing.

 

          Sylvia rolled her eyes, turning back to Cid, “Anyway, can you install it for us, Gramps?”

 

“If you stop calling me that, Silver.” He replied, seething.

 

“If you stop calling me Silver.” She shrugged.

 

“I liked Silver though!” He grinned, “But I got this thing I gotta go deliver first.”

 

“What do you need to deliver?” Sora asked immediately.

 

The blond held out an old maroon book, “Just this. It’s real old. When the guy brought it in, it was practically falling apart. Too beat up to restore it to the way it was. But overall, I did a decent job puttin’ it back together. Anyway, you mind deliverin’ it for me? It’s the old house past the Third District. Through a door with a big flame on it.” I snatched the book before Sylvia could reach for it.

 

The ground began shaking for a few seconds. Everyone gripped someone or something to balance. Sora was the first to recover, “Wh-what was that?”

 

Cid hadn’t even bothered to grip the counter, “Hmm? The bell at the gizmo shop is ringing. Go check it out if you want, but deliver that book for me first. When you’re done, stop by the house in the Third District. I’ll be there.”

 

          Sylvia grinned, saluting, “Sir, yes, sir!”

 

          The group headed out the door and into the Second District in a good mood. As we neared the door to the Third District, I paused, “Guys… I’m kinda worried about Cloud.”

 

          Sylvia snickered, wrapping an arm around my shoulders, “Well, Mrs. Strife, what do you propose you do about that?”

 

I gaped at her, crimson staining my cheeks, “S-Shut up! I just-”

 

Kassy giggled, “And what about Leon? Aren’t you worried about him too, Mrs. Leonhart?”

 

“Guuuuuys!” I whined, cheeks darkening, “Seriously though! You guys meet with Ri- I mean stuff without me. I’m gonna go find Cloud.” I mumbled a goodbye and ran off to find Cloud.

 

I didn’t have to look very hard. Atop of the gizmo shop he fought the last of a group of heartless. I watched from just over the edge of the ground, standing on the ladder for a few moments before pulling myself up, “Hey, Cloud…”

 

The blond straightened, facing me with a blank expression, “Elena.”

 

“Are you okay?” I grit my teeth, “Sorry that was probably a stupid question. Of course you’re not okay. I mean can I help in anyway… or something…”

 

He turned away, looking out towards the valley of the Second District. I made my way over to stand next to him. The others were traveling through towards the Third District. I couldn’t help the soft smile as Kassy snatched Leon’s stone from Sora’s hands, who chased after her.

 

“Elena?” I smiled over at him, only for it to falter with the look on his face. Anger, sadness. Broken, “Tell me where he is.”

 

I doubt the answer would make him feel better. I took a deep breath, “If I tell you where he is… Promise me you’ll continue to help us. Continue to travel with us until we find him.”

 

His lip curled into a soft snarl, “I don’t have to pro-”

 

“Please, Cloud!” I squeezed my eyes shut, tears burning, “There’s more going on than you think!”

 

“What does it have to do with Sephiroth? Just tell me where he is!” He pleaded, anger seeming to drain.

 

I tried to tell him. I really did. All I knew was darkness.

 

Cloud’s POV

 

          I caught her just before she hit the ground. I shook her, “Elena? Elena!” What was going on with her?

 

          Slowly she opened her eyes half-way. They were pitch black, “She cannot speak of it.” It was her voice, but another woman’s voice doubled with it.

 

          “Why? And who are you? What’s wrong with Elena?” My grip tightened slightly.

 

          “I am before. She is after. She cannot speak. It will throw everything out of chaos. It cannot be fathomed the consequences of knowledge that should not be here in the first place.” She spoke slowly, a warning.

 

          “Before…” I frowned, “The Princesses? You’re the previous Anti-Princess. Why are you warning me now?”

 

          “She begins to care for you. She cannot protect loved ones if there is nothing to protect. She cannot speak of the past. Any of them. You cannot know until the time is right.” She raised her hand, curling her fingers over my shoulder, squeezing gently, “Protect her whilst I cannot. Please I beg you.”

 

          “You know, Elena?” I grasped her hand, “How?”

 

          “When she discovers the truth, she has the choice to tell you. Until then I will not say. Please protect her.” She pulled me closer before pressing her lips to mine. Her grip loosened a moment later as she slumped backwards once more in my arms.


	44. We're Off To See The Wizard

-April 17, 2009-

****

Elena’s POV

 

          My head was pounding as I gained consciousness. My vision cleared to Cloud standing above me, a worried expression on his face.

 

          I frowned, sitting up, “What happened?”

 

          His face became blank, “Nothing. You fainted and I caught you before you hit your head.”

 

          “You’re not telling me everything.” His face gave nothing away.

 

          “There’s nothing to say.” He finally turned his head, bangs falling over his eyes ever so slightly.

 

          “Bullshit.” I let out a noise, a crossover between a sigh and a groan, “Fine. Whatever.”

 

          His hand cupped my cheek, lingering for a few moments, before he pulled away completely. I mumbled his name, confused.

 

          “I’ll see you in the morning.” He disappeared over the edge of the building down the ladder.

 

Sora’s POV

 

          The girls are always acting strange. And always cutting themselves off. What are they trying not to say? I sighed deeply. It wouldn’t have mattered if I’d asked anyway. They wouldn’t tell me. We fought our way through the middle of the Second District. I fiddled with Leon’s stone absentmindedly. It only registered in my mind a second later that Kassy had stolen it out of my hands.

 

          “H-Hey! Give it back!” I pouted, running after said female.

 

          “Gonna have to catch me first!” She giggled. I ignored the slight skip of my heart, grinning madly and increasing speed, chasing her around the others.

 

          Sylvia cackled, “Run bitch run!”

 

          “My money’s on Sora this time.” Hazel shrugged with a grin.

 

          “What?!” Kassy halted abruptly, causing me to fall onto her, “Now wait just- Ah!”

 

          I froze as my fingertips came into contact with the exposed skin of her stomach. My face exploded with heat as soon as I realized the others were laughing. I scrambled off, stuttering out apologies.

 

          Another moment later, I was literally dragged out of my thoughts by Donald and Kassy through the door to the Third District. We fought our way through and stood in front of a large door with a flame on it.

 

          Sylvia, Hazel, and I all fought over who got the honor of sending magic at the door. Finally Donald rolled his eyes, “All of you can do it together!”

 

          The three of us rounded on him with equally angry glares. He held up his feathered hands with a sheepish look. In the end we did listen to him, all holding up our weapons and shouting fire, sending three balls of flames at the door.

 

          Kassy and Goofy stood behind us. Goofy was the first to speak, “Did it work?”

 

          Hazel poked the door, jumping back with a squeal when the door raised itself. Everyone laughed, some more nervous than others, heading through the door. We emerged from the darkness into a large cave-like room with a big weird looking building in the middle of a body of water. Long moving rocks were the only pathway.

 

          Donald and Goofy were the first ones to begin jumping. Sylvia and Hazel grinned at Kassy and were the next to jump, singing a song I’d never heard of, “Following the leader! The leader! The leader! Following the leader wherever he may go!”

 

          Kassy giggled before jumping onto the first rock. She screamed abruptly, flailing her arms. Laughing, I landed close behind her, gripping her biceps to steady her. I ignored my racing heart as my skin came in contact with hers, “You’re really clumsy.”

 

          “I-I’m working on it…” She stuttered, the tips of her ears turning pink.

 

          “If you’re sure…” I grinned, letting her go and hopping the rest of the way across the cavern.

 

          Kassy made her way across a few more rocks before slipping and falling into the water. Her head broke the surface with an intense gasp, “T-That’s so cold!”

 

          Everyone immediately began howling with laughter. Sylvia and Hazel hoisted her out of the water. She wrapped her arms around herself, shivering visibly. Donald dried her with a small fire spell and we headed inside the building. Only a circular stone platform stood in the middle of the room.

 

          “There’s something about this musty place…” That voice! I whipped around to face the owner. The red head walked past me, hands behind her back, a smile to the ceiling, “It reminds me of the secret place back home, where we used to scribble on the walls. Remember?

 

          “Kairi?” I managed to gasp, reaching out for her.

 

          “Sora?” I looked over my shoulder at Goofy for a moment before turning back to… She was gone?

 

          “Well, well. You’ve arrived sooner than I expected.” Everyone looked over at an old man with a long white beard in a dark periwinkle robe and matching pointed hat.

 

          I walked closer to him, trying to shake off Kairi’s appearance and disappearance, “Wha… You knew we were coming?”

 

          The man smiled, “Of course.”

 

          I blinked, trying to find anything heavily suspicious, “Are you… a Heartless?”

 

          “He doesn’t look like one.” Donald frowned.

 

          “Idiots!” Sylvia grumbled, pouting when Kassy smacked her arm.

 

          “Oh, my. No.” He chuckled. “My name is Merlin. I am a sorcerer. I spend much of my time traveling. It’s good to be home. Your king has requested my help.”

 

          Goofy’s eyes widened, “King Mickey?”

 

          “Yes, indeed.” Merlin nodded, “Donald, Goofy. And who might you all be?”

 

          I smiled, “I’m Sora.”

 

          He brightened, “Ah. So, you have found the key. And you girls must be the Maidens and Princesses.”

 

          Sylvia smacked Kassy in the arm, “Wait, hold the fuck up! You know who we are?!”

 

          The wizard chuckled, “Indeed I do, Darkness Maiden.”

 

          “Jesus Christ, we have a lot to talk about then.” She held Kassy away with one hand, who was attempting to attack her.

 

          “I’ve got loads of notebooks. We’re gonna need them.” I jumped. When did Elena get here?

 

          “What did the king ask you to do?” Donald’s voice broke through the rising tension.

 

          “Just a moment…” Merlin stepped onto the platform, “Presto!” He danced around on both feet as object after object danced out of his bag, slowly growing in size. Soon the room looked like a small home, “There, now. Ahem. Your king asked me to train you in the art of magic. Oh, and one more thing.”

 

          Lights twinkled around the room until they gathered around a small purple coach next to the door. After the light dimmed, in place was an old woman in a periwinkle robe, a wand in hand, “Hello. I’m the Fairy Godmother. Your king asked me to help, too.”

 

          Elena handed Merlin the book, “Oh, that book... So, Cid asked you to bring this. Thank you. You wish to know what kind of book it is?” Why were the girls looking fidgety? “I don’t even know myself. In fact, it’s not mine. Somehow it found its way into my bag one day. It was such a curious book, I asked Cid to repair it for me. Well, I guess I’ll put it somewhere, for now. This book holds a great secret. The missing pages will unlock it.” He pointed to a small brown table next to the bed, “I’ll leave the book over there. Do look at it whenever you like. My best regards to Cid for repairing it for me.” Kassy held up the stone, “You should ask Fairy Godmother about that.”


	45. A Punch To The Face

-April 17, 2009-

 

Sylvia’s POV

 

          Kassy tried with all her might to avoid looking at the doorway. Riku was on her mind. I just knew it. She couldn’t fool me. A hand landed gently on her shoulder. She managed a weak smile up at Elena. I wrapped an arm around the back of her neck, pulling her head to my shoulder with my hand. Hazel came up behind, wrapping her arms around her waist. She couldn’t help giggling. The others stared at us with questioning gazes. We reluctantly let go of our worried friend.

 

          “If you’d like, you may explore the book.” Merlin suggested, motioning to the book on the far table.

 

          Sora eyed Pooh’s storybook for a moment before looking at each of us, “Anyone coming with?”

 

          I noticed Kassy raising her hand, a nervous frown on her lips. With a smirk, I shoved her towards the brunette. He steadied her, hands lingering in each other’s. Both their faces burst with a crimson glow as they looked at each other. I shoved them both towards the open book, smirking as they disappeared in a portal of light.

 

          I grinned over my shoulder to Elena and Hazel, “He’s so getting laid tonight.”

 

          “You’re an idiot.” Elena groaned. Hazel snickered. The room grew awkward. Merlin interrupted the silence with a cough, “While those two are on their journey in the book, if you follow me, I will start your training.”

 

          My jaw dropped before glaring, “What?! Come on! You gotta discuss shit with us! We’re kinda in the dark here!”

 

          “Would you be tactful and respectful for once in your fucking life?!” Elena spun me around, shoving a finger in my chest.

 

          I stood my ground with a smug expression, “Oooh forceful. You know what a girl likes.”

 

          She raised a closed fist faster than I had anticipated and couldn’t evade the hard punch to the face. I couldn’t hear the excitement of the room clearly through the ringing in my ears.

 

          Having been forced to my knees, I looked up at my assailant with a grin, blood dripping from my nose and lips, “That the best ya got, bitch?”

 

          “Whoa, whoa, Vy-Vy, come on! Don’t antagonize her further!” Hazel tugged on Elena’s arm holding my shirt in a fistful grip.

 

          “Back off, I’m been wanting to do this for years.” Her eyes blazed strongly as she shoved Hazel roughly to the floor. To my surprise the irises began darkening until they were as black as a broken heart.

 

          I spat blood in her face, “Then do it, cunt.” Her other fist drew back. My eyes closed of their own accord.

 

          The impact never came. I blinked for a moment before registering the scene in front of me. Elena’s fist was frozen in the air mid swing. Upon observation, her entire body was frozen.

 

          I looked to the left at Merlin approaching with a grave expression, “I was afraid of this… Her eyes changed. She’s tapped into the Anti-Princess of Heart’s power.”

 

          “What? What the hell does that mean? How could she even do that? She was with u- Wait…” I jerked my head to look at Hazel, standing behind Elena, “She was with Cloud! Did something happen?”

 

          “Did he say something maybe?” She frowned, nervously hovering close to checkout her eyes and everything else.

 

          “Who knows. But I do know that her being frozen like this is hella creepy. Can I at least get out of her grip so I don’t have to look at her face?” My bottom lip jutted out in a deep pout. Hazel helped me ease my shirt out of Elena’s closed fist. I slipped over to her side for her face to be out of my line of sight, “Better but still creepy.”

 

          “Perhaps we should find Cloud and inquire about what the trigger was?” Merlin suggested, “One of you go out and find him and in the meantime, the rest of us will prepare for worst case scenario.”

 

          Before I could volunteer, Hazel gripped my right shoulder, “Vy-Vy, you can’t go. You’re gonna make things worse.”

 

          I glared before the sentence had finished, forcefully shrugging off the offending hand, “What the fuck does that mean?! I can bring him here!”

 

          She took a deep sigh, “Come on. Even if you could get him here, he wouldn’t tell us anything unless he was here of his own free will.”

 

          I grumbled for a moment before turning away, steeling my stance, “Fine. Whatever. Go.”

 

          I heard a soft, saddened sigh, “I’ll be back as quick as I can.”

 

          I refused to turn around until I heard her echoing footsteps cease completely. I turned and faced the others, with a squared jaw, “So, what do you suggest.”

 

          Merlin ran a hand down his beard with a grave look, “I fear I may have to suppress her power for the time being. But if it’s getting worse, it may have consequences.”

 

          I swallowed my disgust and stepped closer to put a hand to her cheek with a small frown, looking into her empty black orbs, “Consequences? I’m afraid to ask.”

 

          “It would cause her heart to become unstable. There has been a tie to the previous Anti-Princess of Heart and had suppressed the power. But as Elena had been so young she had not tapped into said power and the consequences were non-existent. Whatever has triggered this… It would not be without risk to suppress it further. An unstable heart is dangerous thing.”

 

          I tapped my palm gently against the frozen face of my friend, mumbling, “And you call me heartless…”

 

          “Is there a better way, Merlin?” Goofy asked from his standing point behind the wizard.

 

          I snorted humorlessly, not looking away from the eerie gaze of darkness, “Yoga?”

****

          “That’s not entirely incorrect.” He hummed thoughtfully.

 

I snapped my head quickly to look at him, ignoring the twinge of pain in my neck, hand dropping carelessly to my side, “Say what? I was kidding!”

 

          “This is something that she has to learn to control herself. All of you. I can assist, but in the end it will be you who will be in control or not. And both you and Elena should be especially careful. Darkness is cunning foe. It can be in the form of many things including everything we ever wanted.” I didn’t like the look in his eye. Swallowing the thick lump that had suddenly blocked my throat, I looked back at the frozen Elena.

 

          Whatever he had in mind to say, if he was going to say anything, was interrupted by a pair of heavy footsteps hurrying up the steps and though the curtain doorway.

 

          Hazel half jumped and was half pushed out of the way as Cloud rushed over to stand in front of Elena, shoving me out of the way. Hazel clamped down the insults that threatened to escape my mouth with a hand on my shoulder.

 

          In a matter of minutes, in accordance to Cloud who refused to speak in front of us and only to Merlin, Hazel and Goofy with their strength combined dragged me kicking and screaming to the training loft above. Merlin sealed the door before I could escape. I hoped someone’s ears bled as I protested my anger.

 

          Donald looked like he was one of the ones on the verge of it with his hands on the sides of his head with scrunched eyes.


	46. Hundred Acre Wood

-April 17, 2009-

 

Kassy’s POV

 

          I clutched Sora’s hand as we gently floated down to the surface of the book. Sora looked around with a frown, “There’s nothing here…”

 

          I bit my lip, eyeing our still conjoined hands, before pointing to the bottom right corner of the book’s surface, “There’s something over there.”

 

          Without releasing our hands, causing red to blossom across my cheeks, the brunet pulled me gently along with him. A small tent made of sticks lay flat on the page. A small caption above it read, ‘An empty meadow.’ I brushed an edge of the tent with my foot, by accident, gasping as it sucked the both of us into the page.

 

          Gently we both landed in an empty meadow with a large log in the middle. A small golden yellow bear with a small and quite short red t-shirt sat on the log, thinking intensely. I bit my clenched fist lightly, eyes wide. Winnie the Pooh was my childhood! This would never cease to surprise me. I held in the squeal, tugging Sora closer to the log.

 

          “Think, think. Think, think.” The bear muttered, a hand to his head, the other on his arm.

 

          “Uh... Hi, there. What’s wrong?” Sora asked, letting go of my hand.

 

          The loss of contact made me a little disappointed. The golden yellow bear shook his head, “Nothing. Just thinking.”

 

          “Oh.” Sora frowned.

 

          “I was thinking of how to say goodbye to Pooh.” The bear continued.

 

          “Pooh?” My companion questioned.

 

          “Yes?” Pooh glanced at him.

 

          “Wait a second.” Sora hopped onto the trunk next to him, “You’re Pooh?”

 

          I sat on Pooh’s other side. He smiled at each of us, “Yes, I’m Winnie the Pooh. Pooh for short. Who are you?”

 

          Sora grinned, “I’m Sora.”

 

          I didn’t bother to mask my squeal this time, “I’m Kassy! Short for Kasandra!”

 

          “Oh. Hello, Sora and Kasandra. Have you come to say goodbye to Pooh, too?” He tilted his head.

 

          Sora blinked, “Well, no. Why would we do that? We’ve only just met.”

 

          Pooh frowned, “Because everyone’s gone away.”

 

          Sora mirrored his expression, “What do you mean?”

 

          The bear sighed, “Well, we all lived here in the Hundred Acre Wood. And we’d take walks together, or play Pooh sticks... And every day, I’d eat some honey. Just one small smackeral would taste very good right now. But now everyone’s gone.”

 

          I knew this scene off by heart, but I still held my hands to my chest. Experiencing in my current reality, his voice was even more heartbreaking, “How sad!”

 

          He nodded solemnly, “All my friends, and my favourite Hunny Tree too. Everyone must’ve gone away while I was napping, I think... So, who knows? Maybe I shall end up going away somewhere as well.” The bear hopped off of the log and rubbed his head, “But I wonder, how do I say goodbye to myself? Think, think, think. Oh, my tumbly is getting rather rumbly.” Sora and I watched him walk away, sharing a look of concern.

 

          After a moment, Sora took my hand once more and dragged me towards the edge of the meadow. In a flash of light, we were back on the surface of the book. In the middle of the left side was a large tree with a single door. Closer inspection revealed a caption above that read, ‘An odd sign hangs above this house’s door.’ With another touch to the tree, we were sucked into the page once more.

 

          On the other side, the two of us landed on a pathway to a large tree with a door. In front of the house was a small log and an even smaller fire. I let go of Sora’s hand and rang the doorbell. I heard a knocking sound from inside the house. I motioned for him to follow me into the house.

 

On the other side of the door, Pooh sat on the floor with a honey pot, “Oh, bother. There’s no more honey left. If only the Hunny Tree would visit... Then I could eat my fill. Oh, hello, Sora and Kasandra. Nice to see you again.” We watched him waddle out the door.

 

I walked in front of Sora out the door with a smile. Next to the fire, a great horn owl stood, “Let me guess: You’d like to know what happens next. Unfortunately, some of the pages are missing, so I can’t tell you yet. The pages are scattered over many worlds. Would you find them for us?”

 

The two of us nodded with a smile, “Come on, Sora. We should be getting back to the others.” I took his hand like he had mine and led him down the path.

 

“Oh! Take care of this young girl. She looks like a fine young lady.” Both of us turned to Owl in shock, blushing madly. I dropped Sora’s hand like fire, sputtering madly. Owl just chuckled and flew off.

 

“L-Let’s get back...” Fearing my own voice, I could only manage a shaky nod.

 

          When we were standing in Merlin’s tower once more, I immediately noticed that everyone was gone except for Merlin and Cloud who were huddled together and speaking quietly with very grim expressions.

 

“W-we’re back…?” I mumbled nervously.

 

I looked at the ceiling as a loud insistent thumping began, followed by loud screaming. I grimaced, “You locked Syvy up there didn’t you.”

 

Merlin mirrored my expression, “Circumstances forced hands.”

 

          That’s when I noticed Elena. I ran over with a look of horror, putting my hands to her cheeks, staring into her empty black irises. Tears gathered in my own, trailing down slowly, “What happened?!”

 

I vaguely felt Sora gently put his hands on my arms. Cloud spoke up quietly, “I can’t say everything but I will say that she tried to tell me something about you and the other girls. But something stopped her and I’m not allowed to know. None of you are supposed to say anything. It could have really bad consequences.”

 

“Kassy…?” I heard Sora whisper quietly after a few moments. I don’t know what face I was making, but it did not look like any of them thought it was good.

 

I let my hands fall from Elena, shrugging off Sora’s arms, tears trailing, “We need to talk. Sylvia, Hazel, and Elena. Cloud, whatever you think you know, I’m sorry.”

 

Merlin nodded gravely, “I will send both of you to the training loft. I will put a spell on so we cannot hear anything.”

 

I sniffled, “Thank you.” I felt Sora put his hand on my shoulder again. I shrugged it off, shaking, refusing to look at him.

 

When the girls were situated in the loft, Merlin removed the spell on Elena. With the previous momentum, she was thrown to the ground. She whipped around with a snarl only to pause at the change of scenery. Black receded until the colors we knew were in place once more.

 

“Tap the button when you are ready to return.” He handed me a small black box the size of the middle of my palm with a single red circle on the top. He went back down to the others, putting on the spell.

 

Elena looked up with a look of guilt and tears ready to spill, “What is happening to me?!”


	47. Aggression

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is kind of an emotional chapter. Also warning this chapter includes some violence.

-April 17, 2009-

 

Hazel’s POV

 

Sylvia crossed her arms, slouching back into one of the chairs Merlin had conjured for us in the training loft, “Okay so apparently you’re tapping into your power or some shit?”

 

          Elena clawed at the floor with a pained expression, “This can’t be fucking happening this is getting too real I can’t-

 

          “HEY!” Sylvia snarled the word, causing her to pause, “Pull yourself together, idiot! You’re supposed to be the one who’s keeping track and shit. Aren’t you the logical one?”

 

          Kassy took in a small breath, leaning forward slightly in her own chair with a quick glare to the angry brunette, “What she means ‘Lena… Is that you just gotta calm yourself down. We know you’re a very logical person. You’ll be able to figure everything out!”

 

          I nodded, bouncing over and dragging Elena up and onto a chair. I sat on the last chair, “She’s right, Na-Na. Merlin said we’re all on the way to tapping into our power. And because of that-”

 

          Sylvia interrupted me, “Excuse me. We? No, no, honey. You don’t get a say in this. It sounds to me like Kassy, Janele, and I are the important ones here. We all know a Princess of Heart has a heart of pure light. Well, now that we’ve discovered there is such thing as an Anti-Princess of Heart, it extends to pure darkness. Or at least what I’ve been getting the impression of here. But a Half-Princess? You’re literally just a person. That ain’t special.”

 

          Slowly I stood, clenching my fists, tears gathering in the corners of my eyes, “If there’s a title there’s gotta be something more to it…”

 

          Kassy fiddled with her hands in her lap, refusing to meet anyone’s gaze, “I think she’s right, Zelly… Kingdom Hearts is known for it’s depiction of light and darkness. And it’s adamant on everyone having both light and darkness in their hearts. Only the princesses have a pure of heart. All this time we thought it was only light. But now darkness? That sounds really bad. A heart of pure darkness… Oh ‘Lena…”

 

          Elena ran a shaking hand through her hair with an equally shaking breath, “You should be thankful, Haze.”

 

          “I’m not thankful! None of us should be thankful!” I couldn’t stop the words out of my mouth or the tears that escaped.

 

          “That’s not what I meant.” Elena groaned, burying her face in her hands, “This is a nightmare…”

 

          Sylvia propped crossed ankles on top of the table, “This is ridiculous. We should be figuring out what happened. How we got here. Why we’re here.”

 

          Elena looked up from her hands with a weak smile, “I’m so proud…”

 

          “Yeah, yeah.” She snorted, putting her hands behind her head, “So, anyone have paper? Or something?”

 

          Elena shook her head, “I think I left my bag near Merlin’s chalkboard.”

 

          Kassy hopped to her feet, “Be right back then!” She took the small black box from Sylvia’s lap, tapping her palm against the button in the middle.

 

          A large tile lowered below and Merlin rose up, “Finished already?”

 

          Kassy shook her head with a small frown, “No, sorry. We need some paper and something to write with. Elena left her bag downstairs.”

 

          Merlin’s eyes twinkled and he held out said bag, “I thought so. Good luck, girls.”

 

          With a symphony of gratitude, he lowered back down before sealing the floor once again.

 

          Elena ruffled through her bag with a shaking hand for a few moments before muttering curses and dumping the bag upside down onto the table. She snatched one each of the many pencils and notebooks.

 

          She scribbled furiously for a few moments. No one dared interrupt. Finally, our ravenette friend’s head shot up with a furious look on her face, “Okay first things first. Recount before we fell into a coma. Any weird feelings or whatever. Don’t leave out anything. I don’t care if it’s embarrassing or if you think it doesn’t matter. Say it anyway.”

 

          Both Kassy and Elena were not happy Sylvia had lied about the dreams. I wasn’t surprised. I wasn’t happy either, but definitely not surprised. Elena sighed angrily, “Okay whatever. Fine. It’s done. We’re here anyway. I doubt it matters now. Let’s go over after we woke up from the coma. Same thing: don’t leave anything out.”

 

          Now the anger was directed at Kassy for lying about the incidents with the Heartless. She clutched her hands in her lap, tears gathering in her eyes, head down, refusing to make eye contact with any of us, “I was scared!”

 

          “You should have fucking said something!” Sylvia hissed, slamming both feet on the ground and fist on the table, “Open your eyes, Kassy!”

 

Kassy sobbed, “I didn’t think it would be a repeated thing!”

 

          I had had enough, “Knock it off, Vy-Vy!”

 

          Sylvia’s blazing eyes snapped in my direction, “Shut the fuck up. You don’t get to say anything to me right now.”

 

          “Yes I fucking will!” I screamed, standing abruptly. My chair fell behind me.

 

          She stomped to her feet, “Fuck off!”

 

          Kassy continued sobbing in her chair. Elena scribbled furiously, angry tears starting to leak from her eyes. I couldn’t take it anymore. I grasped the chair behind me and threw it at Sylvia.

 

          Sylvia fell in slow motion to the ground with a loud thud that echoed in the suddenly silent room.

 

Sora’s POV

 

          I paced in the room. What were they talking about? Was everything okay? I frowned up at Merlin, voicing my worries.

 

          Merlin shook his head with a grim expression, “It’s not for me to say. And they can’t say either.”

 

          “I was afraid of that…” I sighed quietly. I sat back on Merlin’s bed, staring down at my hands in my lap.

 

          It remained silent for the next hour. Finally, Merlin received the signal to bring them back down. I gasped jumping to my feet.

 

Sylvia had one eye swollen shut, the other with a nasty bruise. Blood dripped down her nostrils and mouth. She held her stomach with a wince. She was limping as well. Her clothes were covered in tears, some spots soaked with blood from various cuts. Elena was limping as well. She held one arm to her chest with the other, wincing. Her breathing was ragged. Her cheeks were red with obvious signs of assault. Hazel looked to be in a very similar condition to Sylvia, but a bit less severe. Kasandra was limping, holding her wrist to her chest, wincing. Her breathing was ragged. Her cheeks were also red with signs of assault.

 

I rushed to Kasandra’s side, catching her just in time as she lost balance. Sylvia spat a scary amount of blood onto the floor. Her voice was slurred, “Miscalculated… May have punctured her lung…”

 

She proceeded to collapse, her cheek landing in her blood on the floor. Hazel grasped the wall for support, taking a shaking breath in. Elena collapsed on the floor as well, but was still conscious. Cloud rushed to her side.

 

Merlin let out a breath, “Alright, help me take them back upstairs each onto a bed. I’ll be able to heal them there.”


	48. Out Of Hand

-April 17, 2009-

 

Sora’s POV

 

          When the four girls sat up in their beds, Donald immediately began lecturing, “What the hell was that?! What happened?”

 

          I grasped Kasandra’s hand where I sat by her bedside, “What did you mean earlier, Sylvia? You did this?”

 

          She growled in my direction, “Fuck you.”

 

          Kasandra lowered her head, squeezing my hand, “She went for Hazel… I jumped in the way…”

 

          Sylvia turned her head away, “Hazel could have handled the force I used. Kassy couldn’t.”

 

          “You could have killed her!” I couldn’t help crying out, “Why would you even try?!”

 

          “I pushed her too far.” Hazel spoke quietly, “I think all of us are to blame.”

 

          Merlin sighed, “I suppose the aggression has been tamed for the time being.”

 

          Elena muttered, “I wouldn’t count on it…”

 

          Sylvia threw her pillow at her, only to wince afterwards and curl into a ball. Merlin smiled humorlessly, “Yes, you’ll be quite sore for a few days. You may want to rest.”

 

          “Rest… Is for… The weak.” Sylvia groaned.

 

          “For god sake, idiot.” Elena groaned into her hands.

 

          Donald let out a frustrated sigh, “We need to be continuing our mission! You just cost us a couple of days!”

 

          “Fuck off!” Sylvia hissed.

 

          “For fuck’s sake, enough!” Elena snarled.

 

          I assisted Kasandra into a sitting position. She was glaring at Sylvia, “Look what’s happening to us, guys! This is not how this is supposed to go!”

 

          Sylvia sat up with a groan, and looked down at her hands in her lap before mumbling a small apology.

 

          Hazel took a deep breath, “Trust me when I say we’ll be fine tomorrow. We can continue in the morning. Merlin, can you heal us anymore?”

 

          Merlin frowned at each of the girls, “The rapid regeneration of cells will be extremely painful and may disallow further healing. It is highly recommended that you just take the time to rest instead.”

 

          Sylvia snorted, “Don’t care. Give it to me.”

 

          Elena swallowed thickly, “I’ll have to risk it.”

 

          Hazel nodded, “It’s a sacrifice I’m willing to make.”

 

          “No! You guys shouldn’t do this to yourselves!” I cried, before Kasandra could speak, “You guys just need to heal properly. Get some rest.”

 

          Kasandra put her hand on top of mine with a small smile, “It’s okay, Sora. We can handle it.”

 

          Sylvia snorted, “You’re fragile, what are you talking about.” She shrugged off the glare sent her way.

 

          “If they say it’s okay, just do what they want.” Donald huffed, “We gotta get moving.”

 

          I glared at him, “How can you say that?!”

 

          “Hey!” I frowned over at Sylvia, “You don’t get to decide! It’s our decision! And everyone’s good. Even twig-like Kassy.”

 

          “That’s not making him feel better, Syvy.” Kasandra sighed, “But she’s right. We’ve decided. Please help us, Merlin.”

 

          Merlin took in a deep breath, “Alright. I’m sending to boys down to wait.”

 

          Cloud had to force my limbs to move. Unfortunately for us, Merlin had sealed the door with both a locking and silencing spell.

 

Kassy’s POV

 

          The four of us sat panting heavily on the beds. That had been more painful than I had anticipated. After a few moments and with glasses of water in hand, Merlin gave a grim smile.

 

          “I’m sure you have questions.” Sylvia hadn’t even let him finish the sentence.

 

          “Yeah, we have fucking questions. Why the fuck are we here for one thing?! You know don’t you?!” She jabbed an accusing finger in his direction with a glare.

 

          “I do. But according to Cloud, you cannot tell me anything outside of what I know until the time is right.” His own eyes narrowed slightly at the outstretched limb.

 

          With a roll of her eyes, she let it drop to her side, “Yeah, we get that part, but these… Maidens and Princesses. What’s the deal?”

 

          “Merlin…” Elena hesitated, “We… We only knew of seven Princesses of Heart. We have no knowledge of Hazel’s nor my title. And not the Maidens either.”

 

          “Who are the ones before us?” I added quickly, “If we knew, we might be able to get our answers!”

 

          Merlin shook his head, “Perhaps not. I only know what was confided to me. The Maidens and Princesses wanted to hide you somewhere safe until the day you would come into your power.”

 

          Sylvia snarled, “Okay, look. I know what the specific shit that we can’t talk about but we’re gonna with everything else. You say they hid us? Did they stay with us? Cause if so that means they’re our moms.”

 

          He shook his head once more, “They are not. Whoever you were sent to… are not your birth parents.”

 

          “Good.” Sylvia huffed.

 

          “Is that so.” He frowned.

 

          “All of our dads are out of the picture.” Elena sighed, “Doesn’t matter. We’re over it. But are you sure? Why wouldn’t they tell us? I’m already 18.”

 

          “I’m sorry, I don’t have an answer to that.” He frowned.

 

          “Whatever. Next is the comas. If we were supposed to be hidden or whatever until we got our powers, why did we come here early?” Sylvia leaned forward eagerly.

 

          “And why one by one?” I added with worried frown.

 

          “Did you hear them in the dreams?” His tone made me uneasy.

 

          “Yes… Why?” Hazel leaned forward as well.

 

          “It means danger is coming sooner than I hoped. It would be wise to start training. Your powers need to be controlled.” He tapped one of the bedposts with his wand, “This room can help with minor training, however you are going to need a larger environment for the nature and circumstances.”

 

          “So, what, we have to just here doing nothing?! We should be out there! Doing shit! Fighting things!” Sylvia slammed a fist against the bed post close to her head, “This is fucking stupid!”

 

          “Knock it off!” Elena hissed, glaring at her.

 

          “If Merlin says we need to train, we need to train.” Hazel crossed her arms over her chest.

 

          “No! We should be learning on the go! I’m not gonna just sit here and-” As she stood from the bed, screaming her protests, Merlin held his wand in the air.

 

          Thunder boomed and lightning cracked in the room, “Enough!”

 

          Everyone froze, staring up at the angry wizard. His eyes flashed angrily, “That is enough. You are acting like children. This goes beyond losing control of your powers. This is childish behavior.” Sylvia sank back onto her bed without removing her frozen horrified gaze.

 

“I must say I expected more from you girls.” His voice softened as he lowered his wand, “I know things are difficult right now. That you’re scared, confused, and upset. But you need to keep your heads. You cannot afford to lose yourselves. The darkness is powerful and dangerous. Now I want apologies from all of you. Understood?”

 

A nervous mumble of agreement swept through us. It didn’t look like any of the others would be the first to apologize, so I took the initiative, “I’m scared, guys. And… I’m sorry things have gotten out of hand.”

 

Elena sighed softly, “I’m sorry too. And I’m really scared about the darkness… This… This stuff is real…”

 

Hazel wrapped her arms around herself, gripping her biceps, “I-I’m sorry… This is… It’s getting too much…”

 

Everyone looked over at Sylvia. She was looking down at her hands in her lap. Tears were trailing down her cheeks, “I can’t do this… I-I can’t-”

 

I hurried over and sat beside her, taking her hands in mind, tears gathering in my own eyes, “We’re… We’re all in this together…”

 

Hazel nodded from her bed, “And we’re all scared together.”

 

Elena sat down beside hazel, “And we’ll get through this together.”

 

Merlin smiled, “That’s the spirit girls. You’ll make it through. Just believe in yourselves and each other. You need each other.”


	49. Another Reunion

-April 17, 2009-

 

Kassy’s POV

 

          When we finally emerged from Merlin’s training loft, Donald immediately got down to business.

 

          “So, it turns out we are gonna need another day to rest. Fill up provisions, prepare the gummi ship, etc. So, we have keys to the hotel rooms for everyone. Cloud has one already. Two per room so pair up.” Donald held out three colored keys.

 

          “I call blue room!” Sylvia grinned, snatching the key from Donald’s hand, “Kassy, you’re with me!”

 

          “Oh that’s right! We haven’t seen the other two rooms!” Hazel squealed, “Elena and I call yellow room then!” Elena took the key from him.

 

          Cloud sighed, “I don’t care who rooms with me. I’m in the green room.”

 

          Sora shrugged, “I’ll pair up with you. I don’t mind.” Cloud nodded and bid his farewell for the night.

 

          “Then that leaves Goofy and I in the red room.” Donald pocketed the last key, “You’re free to do what you want then until we leave the next morning.”

 

          “Sweet! Let’s go and check out the rooms, guys!” Sylvia grinned at the three girls, “If it’s a bunkbed, I call top!”

 

          My bottom lip curled up, as she dragged me by the hand down the stairs and back through to the third district, “You always get the top!”

 

          “I called first dibs!” She snickered, only to halt just after the edge of the wall to the open floor of the third district, “Oh, right!”

 

          A small group of shadow heartless danced before us. The boys got into a fighting stance only to gasp as a sword slashed through.

 

          “There you are! What’s going on?” Riku!

 

Riku’s POV

 

          Sora hurried past the girls standing at the front of the group, “Riku?!”

 

          “Hey, hey, cut it out!” I smacked his hands away from pulling at my face.

 

          “I’m not dreaming this time, right?” His worry made me feel guilty. I smothered it, faking my feelings with a smirk, “Dreaming of me?” I chuckled at the red blossoming across his cheeks, “But seriously. I hope not. Took forever to find you.”

 

          “Riku!” He finally smiled that radiant smile of his.

 

A small brunette girl stepped next to him with a wide smile, “Riku!”

 

“Kasandra?” Well, wasn’t this a surprise.

 

“I’m so glad you’re here! I was so worried…” She clasped her hands together. Red jumped across her cheeks and she put her hands to her mouth, “I-I’m sorry! I-I mean Sora and I are glad you’re safe!”

 

A smile slowly spread across my lips. Well, what do you know?

 

Sora looked up expectantly, “Wait a second, where’s Kairi?”

 

My brows furrowed, “Isn’t she with you?” Sora’s face fell, “Well, don’t worry. I’m sure she made it off the island, too.” I walked past them, staring up at the starlit sky, “We’re finally free. Hey, she might even be looking for us now. We’ll all be together again soon. Don’t worry. Just leave everything to me. I know this-”

 

The sounds of a sword slicing through the air had me silent. I turned around to face Sora.

 

He held a key shaped sword in his hand with a smug expression, “Leave it to who?”

 

One of the girls snorted. A short haired brunette, “Certainly not you.”

 

“Hey!” He frowned over his shoulder at her, “I thought we were making progress.”

 

She put a hand to her chest with an exaggerated shocked expression, “We were? My apologies for getting your hopes up!”

 

He frowned. Kasandra glared at the female, “Hey, we talked about this!”

 

I frowned, “Um… Someone want to enlighten me on what’s going on? Or who any of you are?”

 

The sarcastic brunette’s eyes shot in my direction, “Shut it, Riku! We’re having a conversation, wait your damn turn!”

 

I stiffened with narrowed eyes before turning on my heel and walking away. Kasandra called out my name and to wait. Sora chorused with her.

 

“Please don’t go! I’ve been looking for you for this long with them!” He pleaded.

 

I paused, slowly turned to face them, “What the hell is going on?”

 

          The clearing of a throat came from a short duck, “My name is-”

 

          “I’ve been looking this long for you...” Sora interrupted him desperately.

 

          My eyes narrowed with a smug tone, “Really. Well, what do you know? I never would’ve guessed.”

 

Kassy’s POV

 

          Goofy put his hands on Sora’s shoulders, “And guess what! Sora’s a keyblade master!”

 

          Donald scoffed next to Elena, “Yeah... Who would’ve thought it?”

 

          Sora growled at me and faced him, growling at him, “What’s that mean!”

 

          “So, this is called a Keyblade?” Everyone looked at Riku who held the keyblade in the air curiously.

 

          “Huh?” Sora articulated, “Hey, give it back!”

 

          After a moment, he tossed it back to its current owner, “Catch!”

 

          “Whoa!” He caught it, clumsily, “Okay, so, you’re coming with us, right?”

 

          I nodded, clasping my hands together, “Please come with us!”

 

          Despite my hoping for that he would change his mind, Donald still protested, “No, he can’t come!”

 

          Sora spun around to face him, “What?”

 

          The duck shook his head, “Forget it!”

 

          The Keyblade wielder stomped his foot childishly, “Oh, come on! He’s our friend!”

 

          Donald huffed, “I don’t care!”

 

          I had only looked away for a moment, but it was too late, “Riku!”

 

          “He’s gone!” Goofy pointed to where he had just been.

 

“Riku?” Sora faced the empty space Riku had once occupied, “Nice going. Oh, well. At least he’s okay. And who knows? Maybe we’ll run into Kairi soon, too!”

 

Sylvia rolled her eyes, “Yeah, pretty sure _you_ pushed him away too.”

 

“What?” Sora spun around to face her, “Why would you say that? I would never!”

 

I gasped at her, “Syvy!”

 

Sora frowned, “I would never push my friends away. Don’t… don’t ever say that to me…”

 

Sylvia’s frame stiffened before she turned her head away and mumbled something. I think it was an apology.

 

I put a hand on Sora’s shoulder, “But we know he’s safe. That’s the most important thing.”

 

He frowned looking over at me, “Is he? We saw him… But…”

 

Sylvia groaned, “Oh, I can’t take this anymore, I’m going on ahead.” She spun on her heel and hurried up the steps towards the gang’s safe house near the door to the second district.

 

I sighed quietly, “Just ignore her… It’s just… It’s been a really tough time for everyone… And Sora? We’ll find Riku again.”

 

He let out a soft sigh, “Okay… I believe you.” He smiled faintly, “Thank you.”

 

My cheeks burned lightly, “I-It’s no problem at all… He’s my friend too… And I believe we’ll find him again.”

 

Sylvia’s voice echoed from the top of the stairs, “Get a room you two!”

 

Sora and I jumped several feet away from each other, faces burning brightly. The others laughed. Everyone herded after her.


	50. Important After All

-April 17, 2009-

****

Riku’s POV

 

          As I watched, from the shadows, Sora, Kasandra, and the others through the large window, a cold calloused hand clutched my shoulder none too gently, “You see? It’s just as I told you. While you toiled away trying to find your dear friend, he quite simply replaced you with some new companions. Evidently, now he values them far more than he does you. You’re better off without that wretched boy.”

 

          I watched Kasandra as her expression grew angrier the more she spoke to Sora. She was interesting. I wonder...

 

The witch’s voice broke me from my musings, “The girl… She doesn’t seem to care much about him. Look at them bicker…” She motioned to Kassy who was pointing angrily out the window in our direction as she screamed at him. Most likely about our reunion, “I can tell she cares for you. Do you?”

 

          I remained silent for a long few moments before slowly turning my head slightly towards her, “She… She seemed to care for Sora…”

 

          I could hear more than see her smirk, “Not the way I see it. She cares for you and will care even more deeply if you pursue her. Help her.” Even I could see the darkness and its power within her.

 

          “You can… help with me with her as well?” I reluctantly asked with a quiet voice.

 

          Her grip tightened on my shoulder ever so slightly, “Of course. Come with me and I can help you. With her and what you’re searching for…”

 

Hazel’s POV

 

          These arguments just kept coming and getting worse by the minute. Kassy was glaring at Sylvia. She was angry, “How can you treat him like this?! You don’t even know him!”

 

          Sylvia’s fists clenched at her sides, “I sure as fuck do! He’s an idiot and things are not going to get better at this rate!”

 

          “Kassy’s right.” Sora stepped up next to the short brunette, “Why are you like this? I’m trying to be your friend! I’m not your enemy!”

 

          A manic grin lacking any humor appeared on her face, “Oh? You truly believe that don’t you?”

 

          His eyebrows furrowed, “I’m not! Really! I’m your friend! I don’t push my friends away! If anything, it’s you who’s pushing us away.”

 

          I grabbed Elena’s arm in rising fear, “Vy-Vy, calm down!” Her eyes had suddenly lightened when the light hit them just right. Only I noticed.

 

          Sylvia snarled, “Pushing you away?! I’m protecting my friends! Seems to me, you couldn’t even get Riku to stay!”

 

          “That’s…” Sora’s own fists clenched, “I tried to get him to stay. He was the one who left. It’s… It’s him!”

 

          To everyone’s surprise, Kassy who was starting to vibrate from so much anger, spun to face Sora, screaming, “He’s standing right outside the window!”  


          But he didn’t follow her outstretched finger. Instead he frowned, “That’s kind of cruel. He ran off. It was his choice.”

 

          Tears trailed down her cheeks, “You have to believe me, Sora! He’s okay!”

 

          “I don’t know if I can...” He turned away with a guilty expression, “All of you guys… These supposed powers getting out of control… I don’t know if I can trust y-”

 

          I blinked only once and Sora was against the wall, holding the gushing cartilage in the middle of his face. Kassy’s hand shot up quickly to muffle her gasp, tears running down faster. Sylvia cracked her knuckles and stomped towards Sora, eyes glinting dangerously for a few moments before swirling to pure white.

 

          Elena and I immediately gripped her arms and trying to calm her down. Elena was sent flying to Yuffie and Aerith’s feet. I was sent to Leon and Cid’s feet. Sora wiped his bloody hand on his jumpsuit and summoned his keyblade.

 

          Leon and Cid stepped closer, “Hey! Sylvia, calm down!”

 

          Sylvia looked over her shoulder at the two males with a snarl and raised a hand, sending a ball of darkness at them that sent them slamming into the wall behind them.

 

          She turned back and raised a hand to Sora. Sora raised his keyblade. Balls of light and darkness gathered at their weapon’s tips.

 

          “Stop!” I cried out, rushing to my feet and jumping in between them, raising both my hands to them.

 

          Both Sora and Sylvia were sent sprawling backwards. Sylvia’s white eyes faded back as she stared at me with a frown. I stomped over to her with narrowed eyes, picking her up roughly by the arm, “I told you to calm down!”

 

          Her eyes widened, “Woah! Haze, your eyes! I’m sorry about the you’re not important spiel! You’re definitely something!”

 

          Satisfied that she was back to normal, I let her go before turning to look at the others, “Uh… Eyes?”

 

          Leon approached slowly, “Left black, right white…”

 

          I looked down at my hands, “And that… thing I did?”

 

          Elena snorted, putting a hand on my shoulder, “You put Sylvia in her place, that’s the important thing.”

 

          Sylvia’s bottom lip curled up, pointing to a groaning Sora being doted on by Kassy, “Hmph! He’s the one who antagonized me!”

 

          “Let it go.” I glared down at her.

 

Her eyes widened again, “Yes ma’am.”

 

Elena grinned, “I like this power you have over her!”

 

Kassy stroked Sora’s head as her hand and his held a cloth to his nose, “Why is she not dangerous like you guys are?”

 

Leon crossed his arms over his chest, “The Half-Princess of Heart is exactly half and half. Not more of either. An exact half of darkness and an exact half of light. It looked like you were able to counter the opposing powers of Sora and Sylvia.”

 

“Huh.” I mused before grinning down at Sylvia still on the floor, “Told you I was important!”

 

Sylvia let out a sigh of relief, “Thank god. Your eyes are back to normal. It was kinda creepy. But like I said. My bad.”

 

I wrapped an arm around her neck and rubbed my fist into her hair, “I’m gonna milk this now!”

 

“Hey, hey! Stop it, bitch! I said I was sorry!” She laughed, weakly pushing at my limbs.

 

With the tension dissipated, everyone laughed for a few moments, enjoying the happier atmosphere. Aerith healed Sora’s nose.

 

Yuffie spoke up first, “It’s getting late. You guys better rest up!”

 

Sora frowned, “But what about the bell? We were gonna go check that out after.”

 

Kassy smiled at him, hand on top of his on the floor between them, “Yuffie’s right. And we can check it out in the morning!”

 

Well, that’s interesting. Sylvia, Elena, and I exchanged a smile. She was gonna be interrogated BIG time.


	51. The Start Of Something New?

-April 17, 2009-

 

Kassy’s POV

 

          As soon as we arrived at the hotel, Sylvia pulled the girls into the blue room. There was a large bed, the sheets of an ocean reef scene with sea creatures. There was a small navy dresser against the far wall and small navy side tables on either side of the top of the bed.

 

          Everyone ran and jumped onto the bed, squealing when it was discovered the bed was indeed-

 

          “Water bed!” Sylvia cackled all but humping the bed to get the movements.

 

          Hazel giggled through her words, moving her upper body up and down, “W-Wait! T-There was a reeeason that we c-came heeere!”

 

          Sylvia slowed her movements but didn’t cease them completely. She grinned, turning her body to face me, “Right! Details, bitch.”

 

          I knew what she was talking about. Red blossomed across my cheeks. Elena grinned, “Yeah, lookin’ a little cozy with him lately.”

 

          I buried my face in my hands, “Guuuys!”

 

          Hazel pulled them away by my wrists, grinning, “I thought he was as gay as a rainbow slinky for a certain silverette?”

 

          I took my hands back with a shy smile and crimson face, “I don’t think he’s as gay as we thought… And I don’t think Riku is either…”

 

          Sylvia sat up immediately, “No fucking way! Do tell!”

 

          I retold of my reunion with him whilst in the cage with Alice in Wonderland. They wouldn’t let me pause at any moment. Elena sighed, laying down on the still rocking bed, “How romantic…”

 

          Hazel snickered, “Sounds like a love triangle.”

 

          I frowned at that, “Wait, what? No, no… No I can’t do that. No, that’s… Oh my god, I can’t do that to them. They love each other! I could never get in the middle of that!”

 

          Sylvia laid down at one of the pillows, humping the air to continue moving the bed, “Have you ever heard of polyamory? Bang ‘em both.”

 

          The red that had finally started to recede came back full force, “Syvy!”

 

          Elena snickered, “She’s not wrong.”

 

          Sylvia grinned at her, “Exactly, Mrs. Leonhart-Strife.”

 

          “Shut up!” She snapped with red cheeks.

 

          “Whatever.” Sylvia grinned, rolling her eyes, halting her hip movements, “Great job though, Kassy. You’ve replaced Kairi.”

 

          “No!” I slapped her hand nearest to me with a frown, “I’m serious. This isn’t… I’m not hurting either of them. And I sure as hell won’t do that to Kairi.”

 

          Hazel grinned, “Fanfiction tells us replacing always bites you in the ass.”

 

          Sylvia resumed her movements, “Then bang all three.”

 

          I folded over, burying my crimson face in the bed in front of my folded legs, “Syvy…”

 

          “If you’d stop having sex with the bed,” Elena raised an eyebrow, rolling her eyes as Sylvia ignored her, “I think she means you shouldn’t worry about these things so much, Kass. Contrary to the rest of the fandom, Kairi’s a Princess of Heart. She’ll only want happiness for her friends. And both Sora and Riku are big boys. They can handle themselves. And they can make their own decisions. And so can you. If you don’t want to get in between, that’s your decision.”

 

          “And if they want _you_ between them. Like literally.” Sylvia halted her hips only for a moment, “I’m talking about sex. Then that’s definitely their decision.”

 

          I could only groan weakly. I’m pretty sure my face was boiling the water inside the mattress.

 

          My friends giggled and resumed their hopping, violently rocking the bed. I joined in soon after my face cooled down.

 

          “Hey, hey, wait guys!” Hazel giggled, “Guys stop for a second!” It took a few moments for everyone to halt their movements and giggles, “We haven’t checked out the other room yet!”

 

          “That’s right!” Sylvia grinned jumping off the bed, “Come on, come on!”

 

          We scrambled after her, bolting out the door and into the hallway, all but throwing ourselves through the doorway of the room next door. We froze just in front of the doorway.

 

          It looked like a sunny, beautiful, but strange, garden. The walls were a soft pale yellow with grassy colored trim. A dainty ivory dresser-like vanity, that looked like it belonged in a castle for a princess, sat in the corner. The bed was a frilly canopy bed of pastel pinks, yellows, blues, and greens like a field of flowers.

 

          Elena blinked, “I feel like we’re back in Wonderland.”

 

          I grinned going into the room first and sat at the small dainty matching chair at the vanity, “I feel like a princess.”

 

          Elena walked over to the bed and sat back with her weight on her hands, “You are a princess. Well… All of us are in a way, aren’t we…”

 

          Hazel joined her on the bed on her stomach, throwing her hair over her head over the side of the bed, “This makes me Rapunzel!”  


          Still in the doorway, Sylvia’s left eye twitched, “I’m in hell.”

 

          I looked away from the mirror, smiling at my horror-stricken friend, “Too much color?”

 

          She stepped in cautiously, looking sick, “Worse than your drunk canvas paintings.”

 

          My bottom lip curled up in a deep pout, “Hey, they’re creative!”

 

          “Trippy. They’re trippy.” She corrected, dropping to sit at the footboard of the bed on the floor.

 

          Pouting for a few moments longer, I stood up and went over to the balcony door, opening it up and standing outside to look at the stars.

 

          The other girls joined my side, looking up at the stars. I could hear Sylvia frowning, “Do you think one of them is home?”

 

          I grinned, looking over at her, “Who knows? We’ll never know by staying here.”

 

          Her jaw dropped as her gaze snapped to me, “Rude! Cruel use of quotes.”

 

          Elena put an arm around my shoulders, “I thought it was clever actually!”

 

          Sylvia put one hand to her heart and the other arm over her eyes dramatically, “You wound me! Bunch of bitches.”

 

          Hazel snickered, “Learned it from the best!”

 

          “Fuck you!” She pouted, shoving her back into the room. She yawned a few steps after her.

 

          Elena followed suit, both Hazel and I not far behind. Sylvia tugged on my arm, taking me into the hallway after we bid them farewell.

 

          “Come on, Kassy. I’m sleepy. Need naked cuddles.” She let go of my arm, standing still until I was in front, and slapped a hand to my ass.

 

          I rolled my eyes, face glowing, “You’re never satisfied.”  


          She gave me bedroom eyes and flirty smile, “Wait for me, my love~”

 

          I groaned weakly into my hands, hurrying ahead to our room.

 

Sylvia’s POV

 

          I grinned to myself as she hurried ahead, flustered. Just as I was about to follow her, I heard a clearing of a throat.

 

          Slowly I spun around with a raised eyebrow, to a red-faced Sora, “What?”  


          “I-I… I didn’t know you two… That you two were… Which is fine by the way! It’s not problem! I just… was surprised.” He waved his hands in front of his face, stuttering over his rambling.

 

          “You have no fucking clue.” I rolled my eyes before fixing him with a serious look, “My love for her goes beyond intimacy. She is my everything and nothing. And I do not have to explain my relationship with her to you in any way shape or form.”

 

          He seemed to slightly deflate. A small frown tugged at my lips, “Look, even if I wanted to sleep with her, she doesn’t like me like that. And I’m pretty sure I’m the only one flexible about their type. If you know what I mean.”

 

          To my surprise, he didn’t look embarrassed. In fact, he looked relieved, almost grateful, happy even, “I actually do know what you mean.”

 

          A smile cracked across my lips before I could stop it, “Well, well. The plot thickens. And here we thought he was for one only.”

 

          He shrugged, cheeks a little pink, “D-Does it matter?”

 

          I closed my eyes for a moment with a peaceful, genuine smile, “It sure does now. She’s gonna be thrilled.” I stepped closer, snickering internally at the slight fear on his face. I put a hand on his shoulder, “Looks like we may have something in common after all…”

 

          He straightened with a bright smile, “Does that mean we can be friends now?”

 

          I patted his shoulder, spinning around and heading for my room, calling over my shoulder, “Perhaps there’s change on the horizon after all.”

 

          “How cryptic.” He laughed nervously before heading to his own room.


	52. A Witch Man She's A Witch!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well I haven't written this since March. Oops. Thankfully the plot is starting to go forward. I get stuck for longer periods of time on filler chapters.

-April 18, 2016-

 

Sylvia’s POV

 

          The next morning, we found ourselves back in the third district safe house. Aerith and Yuffie were sitting on the bed. Leon and Cid leaning against the wall. Cloud leaned against the window, the atmosphere was awkward but not unbearable.

 

          “What the fuck happened? Did you guys have makeup sex or something?” I got immediately three very hard slaps and punches to my arms from my friends.

 

          “Do you need to stand outside alone and not be part of this conversation?” Elena hissed.

 

          I pouted, “You’re no fun.”

 

          Cloud and Leon were both crimson faced but refusing to comment. Cid rolled his eyes, “Can I get on with what I called you here for?”

 

          Sora crossed his arms over his chest, speaking before I could say something witty, “What _did_ you call us here for?”

 

          “Ever hear of Maleficent? She was spotted in town.” I saw Kassy literally perk up straight. She was so ready to quote.

 

          Sora tilted his head, “Who is she?”

 

          Both Kassy and I immediately began quoting with Cid, “A witch, man, she’s a witch!”

 

          Elena rolled her eyes, smacking my arm again. I pouted at her once again, “You’re gonna bruise me one day.”

 

          “Good.” She grinned.

 

          Hazel snorted behind her hand trying not to laugh. Leon raised an eyebrow, “You guys know who Maleficent is?”

 

          Hazel put a hand to her chest dramatically, “Who hasn’t?”

 

          Sora frowned, “Well, _I’ve_ never heard of her…”

 

          “Yeah, well you live under a rock-” Elena smacked my arm in the same spot again.

 

          I grinned in retaliation. Leon accepted Hazel’s answer, “She’s the reason this town is full of Heartless. You girls probably already know you shouldn’t take her lightly.”

 

 

          Aerith nodded as Kassy hopped onto the bed between her and Yuffie, “She’s been using the Heartless for years.” Elena and Hazel took a seat on the floor in front of Cloud.

 

          A grim air filled the room as Leon continued, “We lost of our world thanks to her.”

 

          “One day, a swarm of Heartless took over our world!” Cid started, a growl in his throat.

 

"That was nine years ago!" Leon hissed in warning.

 

Cid continued, voice softer, "I got out of that mess and came here with these guys."

 

"That's awful!" Donald cried.

 

Leon nodded, "Our ruler was a wise man named Ansem."

 

I snorted, earning another punch from Elena. Leon frowned, “Got a problem?”

 

With a smirk, I scanned the room at all the angry and grim faces, “I have many problems… Doesn’t mean I’m gonna talk about my ‘feelings’. Don’t know why you bother.”

 

Elena sighed a very deep sigh, stood up, and shoved me out the door before I could protest. She shut and locked the door before I could comprehend.

 

Elena’s POV

 

Almost immediately, we heard fists on the door, “HEY WAIT! I WAS KIDDING! IT WAS A JOKE! YOU GUYS! YOU ALL HAVE NO SENSE OF HUMOR! BUNCH OF DICKS!”

 

After a few minutes had passed, the pounding stopped. Straining my ears in the silence, I heard her slump to the ground in front of the door.

 

“So, you were saying?” I raised an eyebrow at Leon with a humorless smile, “Ansem. He dedicated his life studying the Heartless.”

 

Cid nodded, “Yeah… His report should tell us how to get rid of the Heartless.”

 

Sora jumped in at this moment asking the whereabouts. Leon shrugged, “We don’t know. It got scattered when our world was destroyed.”

 

Cid breathed in a deep sigh, “I’m sure Maleficent’s got most of the pages.” Silence filled the room for a moment before he changed the subject, “So, you delivered the book?” The girls and trinity trio nodded, “The navigation gummi’s installed and ready to go. I also threw in a warp gummi for the hell of it. See me in the First District later.” With a goodbye from and to all, he opened the door.

 

Sylvia was on her knees, a hairpin lodged in the keyhole. She shrugged unapologetically, “I was almost in.”

 

He stood there for a moment before shaking his head, mumbling to himself and heading through the doors of the second district.

 

          Sylvia stood up, brushing her pants and slipping back into the room. I narrowed my eyes in warning. She only shrugged in response.

 

          Aerith stood beside Cloud, looking out the window, “I’ve been thinking about the bell in the Second District…”

 

          Sora tilted his head, “The one that rang yesterday?”

 

          Yuffie nodded, “The one above the gizmo shop. There’s a legend about it, you know.”

 

          Aerith faced us, a frown present, “But it’s all boarded up. Nobody can get in there.”

 

          “Hell, go check it out!” Yuffie grinned, “Third time’s the charm!”

 

          The seven of us departed with a short goodbye. Leon stopped me for a moment, pulling me closer to whisper in my ear, “Be careful…”

 

          With my face heating up, I nodded shyly and hurried after the others. Sylvia waggled her eyebrows and nudged me with her elbow. I gave her the bird.

 

          Kassy announced that she was gonna chill at the bottom of the shop. Hazel perked up as she sent a suspicious grin in Sora’s direction. Sora however volunteered himself to stay with her.

 

          Sylvia snorted so loudly I was almost worried she had hurt herself. The rest of the group went up to take the boards off the precipice for the bell. I watched Sora and Kassy on the ground below. I couldn’t hear what they were saying while they were awkwardly standing around, not looking at each other. I snorted and nudged Hazel beside me to watch them.

 

          She snickered for a moment then sighed, a smile on her face, “Think it’ll go somewhere soon?”

 

          “If he has the balls.” Sylvia cut in putting an arm around both or shoulders, “And we all know he doesn’t have-”

 

            “Holy crap!” I knew that Sora looked like he only meant to kiss her cheek but she moved her head at the last second and those were definitely lips.


End file.
